Miami Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson hit the Boston Celtics crowd with a creative taunt after making a layup to give his squad a 21-point lead in Game 7.
He recently explained why he did it and amusingly admitted that he barely did enough in the game to be worthy of dishing the taunt. The 29-year-old finished the game with 10 points.
Robinson, who grew up in New England and went to games at TD Garden when he was younger, had a good reason to troll the Boston crowd.
“I still have the same number from when I was in high school,” he said in reference to his phone number. “My number got put in a group chat somewhere, and it was a massive group chat. So, after we lose Game 6, my phone is blowing up from all these random New England numbers, like…’Get f—–, Celts in seven.’ They’re sending me memes of the Curt Schilling bloody sock, and it’s just all these random numbers. It’s like 70 texts. I’m like, ‘What is going on?’ And I’m also pissed ’cause I’m on the heels of this bone-crushing loss where, not to mention, I missed some shots down the stretch I’d like to have back. So, I’m in my feels, and I’m really worked up about it. I’m like, ‘Who the f— gave out my number? How the f— did this happen?’
“So, then I started thinking. I’m creating all these scenarios in my head. I’m like, ‘If I get the chance, and I go into the Garden, I’m gonna do something.’ And I didn’t know what it was gonna be. Honestly, probably a little underwhelming, but you would be shocked at how many people that really bothered.”
Although Robinson didn’t have a huge showing in Game 7, he certainly did his part, scoring his 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field and 2-for-3 shooting from deep.
After a quiet Game 1 against the Celtics, Robinson was very productive from Game 2 and beyond, averaging 13.3 points per night over that six-game stretch while shooting 57.7 percent from the field and 51.7 percent from beyond the arc.
The fifth-year pro has been huge for the Heat in the 2023 playoffs, which has to be a good feeling for him after a frustrating regular season. If Robinson can maintain his hot shooting in the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets, Miami’s bench unit is going to be extremely difficult for Denver to deal with.
Robinson, of course, was part of the Heat squad that reached the 2020 NBA Finals, so he has experience playing on the league’s biggest stage. That’s going to be key this time around, as all signs point to the Heat being prepared for the bright lights.
Looking beyond the 2023 NBA Finals, Robinson’s resurgence is great news for Miami moving forward, as he’s starting to perform like the player the Heat signed to a $90 million deal to a couple years back. Everything is coming up aces for Miami lately.