Boston Celtics forwards Jayson Tatum (0) and Grant Williams (12) defend Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) during the second half of Game 7 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Sunday in Miami (AP photo)

The Boston Celtics are headed to the NBA Finals.

Boston outlasted the Miami Heat with a 100-96 win in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday night, setting up an NBA Finals showdown with the Golden State Warriors. Game 1 will be Thursday night at 9 p.m. at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

Jason Tatum led Boston with 26 points while Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown each had 24.

The Celtics, who will be seeking their 18th championship, got off to a quick 24-9 start Sunday night and never looked back, although the Heat cut the deficit to six at halftime and trailed just 82-79 in the fourth quarter before an 8-0 run gave the Celtics a 90-79 lead. But the Heat had the chance to take the lead with 15 seconds left but Jimmy Butler missed the potential go-ahead 3-pointer. Butler led the Heat with 35 points while Bam Adebayo had 25.

The Celtics and Warriors played once before in the Finals, back in the 1963-64 season. Golden State is back in the finals for the first time since 2019, when it lost to Toronto. This will be Boston’s first Finals appearance since it fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010.

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