NBA Finals bound! The Celtics will face the Golden State Warriors after beating the Heat in Miami

Boston is on to The Finals.

The Celtics beat the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals 100-96 on Sunday night in Miami, punching their ticket to the NBA championship against the Golden State Warriors and sensational guard Stephen Curry.

It will be the Celtics’ first trip to The Finals since 2010 when they lost in 7 games to the Los Angeles Lakers. Boston last won the NBA championship in 2008 against the Lakers, when it was Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen leading the charge. Garnett recently had his #5 retired to the rafters at the TD Garden.

This best-of-seven championship series against the Warriors, with current Celtics’ stars Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart, starts Thursday, June 2.

Jayson Tatum scored 26 points in Game 7. Tatum was the winner of The Larry Bird Trophy, which goes to the Eastern Conference Finals MVP. Larry Bird’s amazing Celtics’ career is highlighted by three NBA championships, three NBA MVP awards, two NBA Finals MVP awards, and 12 NBA All-Star selections.

Asked about winning that Larry Bird trophy, Tatum said “It’s an honor. It still does not even seem real right now. I am grateful for all of this. Regardless of how long I have been in this league. I still feel like a kid, living out my dream.”

As Tatum reflected on the Game 7 win, he talked about the journey to get to this point.

“It feels great honestly,” said Tatum. “To get over this hump in the fashion that we did it. We took the toughest route possible. To win a Game 7 on the road - it’s special.”

“Going through those tough times helped us grow. We kept responding. We kept making winning basketball plays,” said Tatum. “We left it all out on the floor, and obviously, we got it done.”

Tatum also talked about the band he wore during the game - a tribute to the late Lakers great Kobe Bryant.

“That was my idol. My favorite player,” said Tatum. “Today, before I took my nap, I was watching some film from him and his career. I wanted to wear that armband to honor him and kind of share that moment.”

It was a wild end to Game 7. Celtics fans - kept on the edge of their seats until the last seconds ticked off the clock.

Celtics great Paul Pierce weighed immediately after the game, celebrating the Game 7 win.

Games 1 and 2 will be at the Chase Center, in San Francisco.

The series will return to Boston for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday, June 8, and Friday, June 10.

The complete NBA FInals schedule is below.

Travel to San Francisco for Game 1 or 2:

If you are interested in flying to San Francisco on Thursday morning, ahead of Game 1, a non-stop round trip ticket from Boston goes for about $700 as of Sunday night.

Tickets for Game 1 of the Finals were listed as available on Sunday night from $700+ to almost $7,000 each.

Hotels in San Francisco near the Chase Center are running $200 a night and above.

The Larry O’Brien Trophy

The Celtics will be fighting for a newly-redesigned NBA Finals Trophy. Earlier this month, the NBA unveiled “reimagined trophies for the NBA postseason.”

That includes the NBA Finals trophy, named after Larry O’Brien since 1984, who was the league’s third commissioner. It stands 25.5 inches tall and weighs about 30 pounds. It’s had some changes in three areas:

• The net and ball configuration has been shifted forward, symbolizing the league looking ahead to its future.

• The 24k gold vermeil has been masked to reveal sterling silver that emphasizes the channels of the ball and the net.

• The base has been reformed to feature two stacked discs. The top disc lists the first 75 NBA champions. Starting this year, the name of each NBA champion will be etched on the bottom disc of each new trophy, ensuring that each team will receive a one-of-a-kind trophy bearing its name. The second disc was designed with enough space to display the next 25 NBA champions, leading up to the league’s 100th Anniversary Season. The underside of the trophy features the new NBA Finals logo.

The Bill Russell Trophy

The NBA Finals MVP award, named after Celtics legend Bill Russell since 2009, honors the Hall-of-Famer who won a record 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons.

The Bill Russell Trophy, which remains 17.25 inches tall and weighs 11 pounds, “is now finished completely in gold vermeil to match the Larry O’Brien Trophy, and features similar masking to reveal the net and basketball channels,” according to the NBA.

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