Max Strus has had a couple days to reflect on a controversial play in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals -- and his stance hasn't changed.
The Miami Heat wing saw his third-quarter 3-pointer overturned after several minutes of game action when the NBA replay center in Secaucus, N.J., ruled that Strus had stepped out of bounds. Strus' three cut Boston's lead to 56-54 at the time but was taken off the board several minutes later -- much to the surprise of Strus and the Heat.
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"I don't know how that was called that after I've seen the video," Strus told reporters Tuesday, via ESPN.com. "They say they have that (replay) rule to take the human error out of the game, and the human error makes an error on the video. So I don't know -- hopefully I don't get fined."
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Strus may have a point, as it looked like his heel never fully came down to make contact with the sideline. At the very least, there didn't appear to be enough evidence to overturn the original call of a made 3-pointer.
"I'm obviously not happy about it," Strus said. "... It definitely changed the game and the momentum. I think it went from a six-point game to an 11-point game with no time coming off the clock, so yeah -- it is what it is, I guess is the best I can put it. I'm not happy about it, but I guess you just got to move on."
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We can understand Strus' frustration, but it's hyperbole to suggest the call alerted the course of the entire game.
Strus made his 3-pointer less than a minute into the second half and it was overturned midway through the third quarter, so the Heat had plenty of time to play catchup. That's what they did, too, with Jimmy Butler attempting an open 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining that would have given Miami the lead.
Butler front-rimmed his shot, however, and the Celtics held on for a 100-96 victory to advance to their first NBA Finals since 2010. And rather than talk about missed opportunities or blown calls, the C's can turn their attention to the Golden State Warriors ahead of Thursday's Game 1 at Chase Center.