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Derrick White with the last-second goal

Photo: RHONA WISE / EPA

Record champion Boston Celtics has kept its chances of reaching the final round of the North American professional basketball league NBA alive with a dramatic victory.

In the sixth game of the Eastern Conference finals series, the Celtics won 104-103 at the Miami Heat in the last second and equalized 3-3 with their third win in a row. The decision will be made in the seventh and final game on Monday evening (local time) in Boston.

Miami looked like the sure winner shortly before the end and was on the verge of making it to the finals before Boston's Derrick White scored the decisive basket with a buzzer beater. The victory came after Boston squandered a ten-point lead with five minutes remaining.

"I'm glad we won. Whatever it costs. We had our backs to the wall," White said: "We're a resilient group. We carry each other along. We fought for each other." Nevertheless, the work is "not yet done".

With 0.2 seconds left, Boston is 102-103 behind, then the throw:

The 17-time champion can now look forward to a historic achievement. Should Boston also win the seventh game, the team from the East Coast would be the first in NBA history to turn around a 0-3 deficit in the playoffs.

Jayson Tatum was the Celtics' top scorer with 31 points, and he also contributed twelve rebounds. On Miami's side, Jimmy Butler once again stood out with 24 points, eleven rebounds and eight assists.

The opponent for Boston or Miami in the final series has already been decided for almost a week. In the duel for the crown of the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets managed a so-called sweep, i.e. a smooth 4-0, against the Los Angeles Lakers around the German national player Dennis Schröder.

jan/dpa