{"id":1560075,"date":"2023-05-01T15:52:17","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T19:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1560075"},"modified":"2023-05-01T15:52:19","modified_gmt":"2023-05-01T19:52:19","slug":"has-a-no-8-seed-ever-reached-the-nba-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/has-a-no-8-seed-ever-reached-the-nba-finals\/","title":{"rendered":"Has a No. 8 Seed Ever Reached the NBA Finals?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
On Tuesday, April 11, things didn't look so hot for the Miami Heat.<\/a> In the opening round of the NBA's play-in tourney, the Heat, seeded seventh in the Eastern Conference, hosted the No. 8 Atlanta Hawks and were dismantled in front of their home crowd, falling 116-105. In a do-or-die home game three nights later, the Heat rallied from a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bulls to pull out a 102-91 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The win earned Miami the No. 8 seed in the postseason and a date with the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat shocked the world, taking care of the heavily-favored Bucks<\/a> in five games. Miami then went into hostile Madison Square Garden on Sunday and took down the favored New York Knicks in Game 1 of the conference semifinals. It begs the question: Has a No. 8 seed ever reached the NBA Finals?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, the Heat caught a bit of a break when Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo went down with a back injury in their series opener. Miami wasn't without injury in Game 1 as Tyler Herro left with a broken wrist, but the Heat pulled out a 130-117 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without Antetokounmpo in Game 2, the Bucks stepped up and cruised to a 138-122 victory to even the series. That was the last game the Bucks won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Game 3, still without the Greek Freak, Milwaukee was trounced 121-99, and then dropped a 119-114 decision in Game 4, despite his return. Jimmy Butler did the damage<\/a> for Miami, torching the Bucks for 56 points in the Game 4 win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite being a significant underdog on the road in Game 5, Butler and the Heat stepped up. Miami rallied from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter to shock the Bucks. Butler's layup with one second left in regulation sent the game into overtime. Miami won 128-126 to send Milwaukee packing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Heat didn't stop there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On Sunday, Miami headed into New York as a four-point underdog. They trailed 32-21 after one quarter, but rallied once again. The Heat outscored the Knicks 31-20 in the third quarter to turn a five-point halftime deficit into a six-point lead and went on to win 108-101.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Miami Heat look like anything but a No. 8 seed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Has a No. 8 seed ever made it to the NBA Finals?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n