11/23/24
May 25, 2002
The greatest fourth quarter comeback in NBA history: as the Celtics overcome a 21-point deficit to win.
posted by kirkaracha to basketball at 07:21 PM - 6 comments
This series has been oddly similar to the Detroit/Boston series so far. The Celtics got caught standing around in game 1, then got serious in game 2. Game 3 has been ugly both times, albeit in very different ways... but the Celtics pulled off wins both times. Looking forward to game 4.
posted by Bryant at 09:12 PM on May 25, 2002
kirkaracha: The greatest fourth quarter comeback in NBA history Technically, the greatest in playoff history- although in terms of context and setting of a Conference Finals, it may have been the greatest ever as well. From the article: This one seemed lost at the end of three, and Pierce noted that the Nets' reserves were laughing at the Celtics. Oh, that's really smart of them... I have a feeling Byron Scott might have a talk with them about NOT doing that in Game 4. Not that it will do a huge amount of good- the Celtics have immense momentum, and I predict on Memorial Day we may see a remake of that Game 5 in the Celtics/76ers series, when a confident Celtics got their mojo working and simply embarassed the Sixers. The Celtics- and Pierce in particular- seem to have finally woken up in this Series, like Bryant noted in seeing how this could play out like the Detroit-Boston series. Once that happens, and especially with their ability to pour it on in the 4th like they've shown, it seems almost no one can stop them. The Celtics seem headed to the Finals, and it now seems more questionable whether it will indeed be the Lakers who meet them there. In terms of NBA Finals Ratings, though, I'm sure Stern is hoping for Celtics/Lakers...
posted by hincandenza at 10:15 PM on May 25, 2002
That collapse tells me that anyone who voted for Byron Scott as Coach of the Year is nuts. How can you let your team fall apart and blow 21 points in 12 minutes? Inexcuseable. Meanwhile, after the game he just blames his players for failing to run their offense rather than make some adjustments to the fact that the Celtics are swarming Jason Kidd on the pick and roll.
Jason Kidd is the reason that team is where it is, and Scott is simply riding the coattails. Kidd runs their fastbreaks, and his passing becomes contagious.
Watch what happens when the Celtics call timeouts. They almost always get a bucket when they return to the floor. That's a mark of good coaching.
posted by Conquistador at 10:38 PM on May 27, 2002
Sadly, the Celtics lost 94-92 tonight- they did the same sort of thing, the Nets pulling out to a lead and the Celtics coming right back again. Could have won tonight if Pierce had hit those clutch free throws with 1.1 left; but more telling is the fact that the Nets couldn't keep the Celtics out of it; kind of like LA's win, it only was won on a fluke at the buzzer. If that last-second putback had gone, the Celtics take that game; that doesn't bode well for the series... I still pick the Celtics, but at least the Nets have made a series of it again.
posted by hincandenza at 12:30 AM on May 28, 2002
Naaaaaaah. Not even close to the greatest ever. Rewind 2 years to the Lakers / Blazers... This was Game 3, that was Game 7!
posted by djacobs at 11:29 AM on May 29, 2002
I was downtown immediately after the game, and couldn't figure why everyone was soooo excited about winning a game 3. It was a pretty crazy scene- felt like after the Super Bowl, or after the Duke-Carolina game in 1998. But I'd been eating dinner, and heard only that the Celts had won by four- had no clue about the rest of the details. The energy level makes a little more sense now.