Celtics live to see another day, pull away from Heat for Game 4 victory
MIAMI — As Robert Williams sat among a sea of media along the baseline of the Kaseya Center, hours before a do-or-die game for the Celtics, Al Horford walked off the court after a workout and looked at his teammate.
Horford had a smile on his face. He was brimming with confidence.
“I see you, Rob!” Horford yelled into the crowd. “We got it tonight! We got it tonight!”
Less than 48 hours before, the Celtics had been embarrassed. It looked like they had quit after a Game 3 loss that put them in an impossible 3-0 hole in these Eastern Conference Finals.
But they were still kicking. “Don’t let us get one,” Marcus Smart said. “Just don’t let us get one.” They got one.
The Celtics were laughed off the floor on Sunday night. They were trolled. The Heat took their pride, daring the Celtics to even return to the court where they were humiliated. But they didn’t lay down. Facing insurmountable odds, the Celtics roared back, using a second-half surge to take Game 4 with a 116-99 victory.
The Celtics aren’t dead just yet. Game 5 is on Thursday night in Boston.
The C’s responded to Game 3’s loss with a fight, but they didn’t always see the results. That is, until the third quarter, when the best version of the Celtics finally showed up. They got stops, they got in transition. Most importantly – to this team’s success – their 3-pointers finally started falling.
After making just nine in the first half, trailing by six at halftime and nine early in the third, the Celtics went on a game-changing 16-0 run, using strong defense and hot shooting to take control of the game. The Celtics made seven 3-pointers in the third quarter. They made 19 of 45 attempts in the game, the recipe for this team’s success.