MIAMI — As Robert Williams sat amongst a sea of media alongside the baseline of the Kaseya Center, hours earlier than a do-or-die sport for the Celtics, Al Horford walked off the courtroom after a exercise and checked out his teammate.
Horford had a smile on his face. He was brimming with confidence.
“I see you, Rob!” Horford yelled into the gang. “We got it tonight! We got it tonight!”
Less than 48 hours earlier than, the Celtics had been embarrassed. It appeared like they’d stop after a Game 3 loss that put them in an inconceivable 3-0 gap in these Eastern Conference Finals.
But they have been nonetheless kicking.
“Don’t let us get one,” Marcus Smart stated. “Just don’t let us get one.”
They received one.
The Celtics have been laughed off the ground on Sunday night time. They have been trolled. The Heat took their delight, daring the Celtics to even return to the courtroom the place they have been humiliated. But they didn’t lay down. They rediscovered what makes them nice, driving scorching 3-point capturing, sturdy protection and a second-half surge to take Game 4 with a 116-99 victory over the Heat.
The Celtics aren’t useless simply but. Game 5 is on Thursday night time in Boston.
After wanting disconnected, disjointed and simply hopeless on Sunday, the Celtics appeared fairly the other on Tuesday. They regained their swagger, at the least for one night time.
“I think just that poise, the trust in each other, the connectivity I think just throughout a game regardless of how the game was going, that stuff never waned,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla stated. “Listen, when the stakes are actually excessive and also you’re attempting to attain what we are attempting to attain, it’s simple to lose these issues as a result of the blokes are enjoying as arduous as they’ll.
“I just thought regardless of the result, the guys just stuck together.”
The C’s responded to Game 3’s loss with combat all through 48 minutes, however they didn’t all the time see the outcomes. They trailed by 9 on two events earlier than making big runs, together with early within the third quarter when the season might have simply slipped away from them.
The Heat led by 9 within the opening minutes of the second half after a wild sequence. Jimmy Butler blew a layup, however the Heat had a second likelihood. The ball discovered Max Strus, who had a 3-pointer blocked by Jayson Tatum, however he recovered the ball and drained a 3-pointer anyway.
But then issues began to click on for Boston. Stops was offense, and Tatum and Derrick White mixed for 3 consecutive 3-pointers to tie the sport. Then, on the following possession, Jaylen Brown was trapped within the nook and Mazzulla referred to as a uncommon mid-possession timeout to settle issues down and restore order.
What was the message within the huddle?
“Just telling them keep going,” Marcus Smart stated. “This is a pivotal point for us right now. We’ve got to turn it up a little bit more.”
The Celtics picked up the place they left off. Smart hit a 3-pointer to place them up seven, and White made a pair of free throws to cap a game-changing 18-0 run for the C’s, who by no means relinquished the lead after that. The Celtics bursted out to a 38-point quarter, which included seven 3-pointers.
Finally, every thing was coming collectively for the Celtics, who didn’t cling their heads after that wild Strus 3-pointer. It embodied the resolve they confirmed after one among their worst efforts in current reminiscence.
“We didn’t get too high or too low,” Smart stated. “Those kind of performs are devastating to groups. They’ve been making all of it collection.
“Once he hit it, we just wanted to keep going.”
The Celtics by no means appeared again, although they took a punch from the Heat in the beginning of the fourth. Miami scored the primary 4 factors of the ultimate interval and the Celtics offense appeared ineffective with out Tatum on the ground because the Heat minimize the Celtics’ result in 5.
The C’s cracked with fourth-quarter leads in Games 1 and a pair of, which put them within the gap they’re in. But they didn’t let it occur a 3rd time. Mazzulla referred to as a perfectly-timed timeout after that fast Heat flurry. He inserted Tatum again within the sport. He proceeded to make a shot from the elbow, then Brown threw down a dunk that pressured Erik Spoelstra to name timeout.
Momentum was again on Boston’s aspect – and for good.
The Celtics went up double digits, and in contrast to Games 1 and a pair of, they didn’t let up. Grant Williams – who had one other terrific sport off the bench with 14 factors on 4 3-pointers – stuffed Butler on one play. The Celtics have been relentless on each ends of the courtroom, going up by as many as 18 as they ran away from the Heat. The followers at Kaseya Center left for the exits with greater than three minutes left within the sport.
Tatum scored 11 of his 33 factors within the fourth to place it away, nevertheless it was that third quarter run that modified every thing.
“Honestly to start the third quarter, could have went the other way,” Tatum stated. “We gave up some threes. They got — we turned the ball over. But I think we just have to settle down a little bit. We saw a couple go in, and we started to play free. We were getting stops, getting out in transition, the ball was popping, and we was just finding guys.”
When all hope appeared misplaced after Game 3, the Celtics tried to take care of it. The circumstances are nonetheless difficult, down 3-1 on this collection, however they believed one win might restore their confidence and take it from there.
Now they’ve a Game 5 again dwelling in Boston, and a win there might actually change issues.
“We want to come back to Miami,” Brown stated. “If that happens, I feel like we’ll feel good about ourselves. The next one should be fun. It should be a big one, and we’ve got to come ready to play.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com