The walls felt like they were closing in on the Celtics as Game 5 of the NBA Finals loomed on Monday night. Causeway Street buzzed with anticipation, but also a hint of anxiety. The Celtics were on the brink of making history, aiming to secure their 18th NBA championship—their first since 2008—by defeating the Dallas Mavericks for a fourth time in the series.
Boston's fans were thrilled at the prospect of clinching the title at home, especially on the 16th anniversary of their last championship. However, the recent blowout loss to the Mavericks in Dallas—122-84, one of the worst defeats in Finals history—had dampened spirits and stoked nervousness. The idea of having to return to Dallas for a potential Game 6 on Thursday was hardly appealing.
Despite the nerves, there was a glimmer of hope before Game 5. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla announced that Kristaps Porzingis was available to play. "Expect to see him tonight," Mazzulla said, offering a boost of optimism to the anxious fans.
Locally and nationally, there’s been some reluctance to fully embrace Boston’s young superstars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. They've been playing together for seven full seasons, reaping the benefits of NBA wealth and accolades, but have yet to earn the championship rings that cement a Celtics player's legacy. The two Jays have made it to the conference finals together five times and have played in two Finals in the last three seasons. However, until they win a banner, Tatum and Brown don’t join the elite club of Celtics legends like Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Sam Jones, John Havlicek, Larry Bird, and Paul Pierce.
One year ago, when the Celtics lost their first three games of the conference finals against Miami, I called Kevin Millar, the 21st-century spokesperson for hopeless causes. Millar, a staunch believer in miracles, famously rallied the 2004 Red Sox after they fell behind 3-0 to the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. He declared, “Don’t count the Sox out. It’s never happened in baseball, but if there’s a group of idiots that can do it, it’s us.” Miraculously, they did it, and Millar's words became legendary.
“It’s crazy that no one’s ever done it in basketball,” Millar mused, noting that NBA teams are 0-156 when trailing a series 3-0. Interestingly, no one called Millar to pep talk the Mavericks this time.
Last year’s Celtics managed to force a Game 7 with three straight wins after falling behind 3-0 to Miami in the Eastern Conference finals. Unfortunately, Tatum turned his ankle early in Game 7 and could only muster 14 points, shooting 5 of 13. Brown's performance was even worse; he made only 1 of 9 three-pointers and committed eight turnovers, leading to a 103-84 defeat.
This loss prompted Boston basketball boss Brad Stevens to shake up the roster. Out went Marcus Smart, Robert Williams III, Grant Williams, and Malcolm Brogdon. In came Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, transforming the team. The new lineup led the NBA’s best regular-season record (64-18) and a dominant 12-2 run through the first 3½ rounds of the playoffs. However, the Game 4 disaster against Dallas felt like a major setback.
It's often a mistake to worry about the margin of defeat in the NBA playoffs. History has shown that a single game can be an anomaly. The Celtics famously routed the Lakers, 148-114, in Game 1 of the 1985 Finals, only to lose the series in six games. Conversely, the Lakers thrashed the Bird-led Celtics, 137-104, in Game 3 of the 1984 Finals, which at the time was the most lopsided defeat in Celtics playoff history. However, Boston turned the series around, thanks in part to Kevin McHale's infamous clothesline foul on Kurt Rambis in Game 4, and went on to win the championship in seven games.
Larry Bird, after that Game 3 loss, quipped, “If we keep playing like this, Red’s going to be switching to cigarettes. We played like sissies.” When asked how to change their fortunes, Bird famously replied, “You go to the hospital and get 12 heart transplants.” Instead, they made a “no more layups” pledge, toughened up, and seized the title. They went from Boston Garden to the White House Rose Garden in less than 24 hours, and no one cared about that earlier 137-104 loss.
In this year's Finals, the stakes were clear: Boston needed to harness that same resilience and grit to secure their place in history. The Celtics' journey, filled with highs and lows, demonstrated the unpredictable nature of sports. Each game brought its own narrative, and for Boston, it was about writing the final chapter with a triumphant ending.
As fans poured into the TD Garden for Game 5, the air was thick with anticipation. Would Tatum and Brown rise to the occasion and cement their legacy? Would Porzingis make the impactful return that fans hoped for? The excitement was palpable, the energy electric.
In sports, anything can happen. The Celtics knew this all too well. With the roar of the crowd behind them and the weight of history on their shoulders, they took to the court, ready to add a new banner to the rafters and etch their names among the legends of Boston Garden.
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