

"Listen, when the stakes are really high and you're trying to achieve what we are trying to achieve, it's easy to lose those things because the guys are playing as hard as they can. "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," Mazzulla said.
BOSTON CELTICS SCORE LAST NIGHT SERIES
And, after that Mazzulla timeout early in the fourth, Boston got a Jayson Tatum basket on the play following it - Tatum's first fourth-quarter field goal of the series - to kick-start a 12-0 run that put the game away for good. Boston went on an 18-0 run over more than four minutes in the third after the Strus 3-pointer. They went on a 17-5 run after the Martin triple to take a lead early in the second quarter. And then, after the Celtics missed their first four shots and committed three fouls in the first 2:19 of the fourth quarter, coach Joe Mazzulla called a quick timeout with Boston leading 88-83 and the game teetering on the knife's edge.īut in each of those situations, the Celtics responded.

The Celtics were down nine again after a Max Strus 3-pointer 90 seconds into the second half.

Boston was down nine late in the first quarter after a Caleb Martin 3-pointer. Game 4, though, was a totally different story. The Celtics collapsed down the stretch in Games 1 and 2, then were blown out of Kaseya Center in Game 3. We understand the odds are stacked against us, but we're a team that believes in us no matter what, and we've just got to keep going, and all that matters is the next game."īoston found itself in a 3-0 hole coming into Game 4 because it repeatedly failed to survive adverse situations. "Now we've just got to go win another one," Smart said after finishing with 11 points and six assists in 35 minutes. It was quite a statement to make, given that the Celtics entered Game 4 in a 3-0 hole in this best-of-seven series - a deficit that 150 teams have faced over the course of NBA history and not one of them has successfully recovered from.īut, a few hours later, Smart and the Celtics followed through on their part of the bargain, claiming a 116-99 victory over Miami, sending this series back to Boston for Game 5 on Thursday with the Celtics now three more victories away from history. MIAMI - At shootaround Tuesday morning ahead of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, Marcus Smart had a message for the Miami Heat:
BOSTON CELTICS SCORE LAST NIGHT UPGRADE
Holiday still has a high fantasy floor due to his defensive skills, but his offensive production may take a hit with the move.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĬeltics show 'poise' facing elimination, extend series vs. Either way, those six players figure to be on the court as much as possible, though Tatum and Brown figure to dominate the playmaking opportunities. Derrick White, Al Horford, Holiday, Brown, Tatum and Porzingis would all be everyday starters on other teams, but one will have to settle for a sixth-man role to start 2023-24. The Celtics have been busy this offseason, revamping the assets around Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, and their rotation appears clustered at the moment. In Boston, Holiday finds himself essentially replacing Marcus Smart, who was flipped for Kristaps Porzingis this offseason. Holiday was traded to the Celtics by the Trail Blazers on Sunday in exchange for Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2029 unprotected first-round pick, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.Īs expected, Holiday, who was traded to Portland by Milwaukee in exchange for Damian Lillard on Wednesday, has been shipped to a contender.
