No one expected the Boston Celtics to get even this far after facing a 3-0 deficit against the Miami Heat. Sure, as the second seed, the Celtics were viewed as the better team coming into the series against the seventh-seeded Heat. But as we’ve seen, both teams are plenty capable, and they’ve both battle-tested.
The Celtics, coming off an NBA Finals appearance a season ago, switched coaches from Ime Udoka to Joe Mazzulla, but plenty of doubt began to build once they fell behind early in the series. However, now after rattling off three consecutive wins, it feels like Kevin Garnett is back screaming, “Anything is possible” in Boston.
Their latest feat came on Saturday night, when the Celtics managed to stave off elimination once again, defeating the Heat 104-103 in a low-scoring bout. As expected, Jayson Tatum led the way with 31 points, and Jaylen Brown, who said the Celtics were the better team, chipped in with 26.
But we wouldn’t even be discussing this if it wasn’t for Derrick White coming out of nowhere to be the Cs’ savior, with a putback bucket off a Marcus Smart missed three-point attempt. White’s attempt would go in just before the buzzer sounded, keeping Boston’s hopes alive for a few more days.
The actual win itself is impressive, but diving deeper into NBA playoff history, and we see just how incredible Boston’s achievement thus far is.
Boston became just the 15th team to force a Game 6. Now they’ve become just the fourth team to force a Game 7 after trailing 3-0. All other three teams were on the road, the Celtics will be the first team to have a chance to take care of business on their home court at TD Garden. No team in NBA history has ever come all the way back from a 3-0 series deficit and won the series finale.
The Celtics continue to defy expectations with each game they win. But Game 7 is for all the marbles. As mentioned, no one expected Boston to remain alive this long, but now the intrigue is at an all-time high heading into Monday night’s finale at 8:30 PM.
Related: Can the Boston Celtics pull off a Red Sox-style comeback after being down 0-3?