Celtics guard Derrick White (9) scores the game-winning basket just before the buzzer, rebounding a miss of Marcus Smart’s shot to give Boston a 104-103 win. Matias J. Ocner/Tribune News Services
MIAMI — The Celtics are on the verge of making NBA history after rallying from a 3-0 series deficit against the Heat to force a Game 7 on Monday night at TD Garden.
Boston will become just the fourth team in NBA history to achieve that feat out of the 151 that have fallen into a 3-0 hole which calculates to just a 2% success rate.
However, the Celtics have a pretty big advantage over those three other squads (1951 Knicks, 1994 Nuggets, 2003 Blazers) that nearly pulled off the 0-3 comeback before falling short in Game 7. Not only is Boston statistically the best team among that group but they are also the only team to have Game 7 on their home floor after digging a 3-0 hole. Teams that host Game 7 in NBA history are 111-36.
The 1951 Knicks were the closest to pulling off the feat on the road in the 1951 NBA Finals, falling in a 79-75 squeaker to the Rochester Royals.
The 1994 Nuggets almost pulled off two improbable wins during their run, becoming the first team to knock off a No. 1 seed as a No. 8 seed when they beat the Sonics in the first round. After digging a 3-0 hole against a Jazz team led by Hall of Famers Karl Malone and John Stockton, Denver stuck around the game for three quarters but faded late in a 91-81 Jazz win at the Delta Center.
The most recent opportunity came for the 2003 Blazers against a loaded Mavericks squad that featured Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash. Yet again, the road hurdle was too much for them to overcome in a 107-95 loss as Nowitzki went for 31 points and 14 rebounds in the victory.
On Monday night, the Celtics will head back to their home floor where they are only 5-5 during this postseason run. That includes a 2-0 mark in elimination games though which makes Jayson Tatum very eager to get back to the parquet.
“The series is not over,” Tatum said. “We’ve still got a big game Monday. But just the grit that we showed to get to this moment, I’m proud of that. I’m proud to be on this team.
“I’ve never been so excited to go back to Boston in my life, and I cannot wait to see all the fans on Monday because it’s going to be fun.”
Jaylen Brown called out Celtics fans earlier in the postseason for a lack of energy at TD Garden but the All-Star had no doubts about what the atmosphere would be like on Monday night.
“I know these fans, you can hear them here in Miami, so I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like for Game 7,” Brown said “It’s going to be huge. The best two words in sports is ‘Game 7’” and our home crowd, I know they’re going to bring the energy, so I’m excited.”
DERRICK WHITE GAMEWINNER ?#TissotBuzzerBeater | #PhantomCam pic.twitter.com/9EoasImMtn
— NBA (@NBA) May 28, 2023
Derrick White’s putback in Game 6 won’t be fully cemented in the Celtics record books if Boston does not pull off the comeback. The numbers are finally on Boston’s side though to pull off the improbable.
“It’s going to be like the Fourth of July. Fireworks, going crazy,” Marcus Smart said. “So we’re excited and we’re ready. We understand they’re going to come out and they’re going to be ready. It’s going to be a great game and we’re really looking forward to it.”
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