Three Years Ago, The Miami Heat Clinched Their Spot In The 2020 NBA Finals

The storied Miami Heat-Boston Celtics rivalry stems across the past 13 years. As two of the East Conference's top teams, their postseason battles are almost inevitable.

One of those playoff series was ended three years ago on this day, when the Heat eliminated the Celtics in Game 6 of the 2020 Eastern finals.

The Celtics had four 20-point performances from Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart. But Bam Adebayo's 32-point double-double, paired with key contributions from Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, and Andre Iguodala, ultimately put the dagger in Boston's season.

The Heat went to the Finals for the first time since 2014, when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were still running the show. Butler making the Finals in his first season with Miami raised the expectations for the team going forward. Years of mediocrity were reciprocated with championship aspirations.

"I think that's what this whole thing comes down to," Butler said. "Being wanted, being appreciated with what you bring to the table. As I've said time and time again, we're not for everybody, I'm not for everybody. But here I am. The group of guys we have are for one another, we're gonna constantly compete for one another. This is home for me."

They came short of the title against the Los Angeles Lakers, but their 2020 Finals run is remembered as the return to relevance for South Florida basketball.

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Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at or follow him on TikTok @jaydenarmant.