BOSTON -- More than 15 minutes before Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals tipped off at TD Garden, every seat inside the building was occupied, and every person ticketed to sit in them was standing.
After 12 years of waiting, this crowd -- and this city -- was ready to return to the NBA Finals. Now, they'll have to wait another two days -- at least.
Thanks to an all-time classic performance from Jimmy Butler, the Boston Celtics saw their dreams of a trip to the league's championship round vanish, falling 111-103 to the Miami Heat to send this series back to the shores of Biscayne Bay for a seventh and deciding game Sunday night.