It’s Not Luck

It’s not luck and it’s definitely not over yet.

Sunday night’s Game 3 showed the true meaning of ‘Celtic Pride’. The Boston Celtics were down by as many as 21 points while down 0-2 in the series without their leader, Isaiah Thomas. But this team isn’t one to shy away from a challenge. Against all odds, the Celtics fought all the way back and came out with the win in Cleveland, thanks to Avery Bradley’s game-winning 3-pointer.

Everyone had counted the Celtics out after they suffered the 2 embarrassing losses in Boston. The Celtics had trailed by as many as 50 points in this series, and after being down 21 in the third quarter in Game 3, most people thought it was all over.

Marcus Smart and the Celtics weren’t ready to be put away just yet. With Thomas said to be out for the remainder of the playoffs, Boston needs players to step up, and that’s exactly what Smart did Sunday night. In just his 5th career playoff start, Smart scored 27 points, shooting 7 for 10 from three. He also came away with 7 assists, and the last one going to Bradley for the game-winning shot.

Another big hero in Game 3 was Jonas Jerebko, who finished with 10 points, including a huge shot that gave the Celtics the lead with 30.3 seconds remaining. Jerebko was a major factor in Sunday night’s win over the Cavaliers, as he had the highest +/- of the game at 22. Jerebko spoke to the ‘Inside the NBA‘ crew after the game, “We just kept fighting. We wanted to show that we can play.”

Al Horford was fired up after the game and Abby Chin of CSNNE caught up with the Celtics big man to ask how he felt about their Game 3 win, “It’s big. A lot of people doubting us out there. [They] thought we were finished,” Horford said. “This team got heart. I know we got beat bad but it’s all about how you rebound and we bounced back tonight.”

It was a lot more than just a better offensive effort, but it was a better defensive and all-around effort as a team from the Celtics in Game 3. It truly did take heart to come back in a game like that.

The Celtics are tired of being counted out and disrespected, “That’s been a story of our season,” Jerebko told Ernie Johnson. “Nobody really believed in us…”

Coach of the year snub, Brad Stevens, did an excellent job of making adjustments in Cleveland Sunday night, and he deserves a ton of credit for their Game 3 victory.

If the Celtics can keep the intensity they had in Game 3 and transfer it to Game 4 and win, the Celtics will have gained all momentum back, having home court advantage and all. At that point, anything is possible.

Next: Boston Celtics Shock Cavs in Game 3

This series went from “play for pride” to “the Celtics actually have a chance in this series” within a matter of minutes. Some will say it’s luck, some will still count them out, but the Celtics will never back down.

It’s Not Luck