The Celtics cruised through the regular season with the best record in the NBA and then did even better in the playoffs, never trailing in a series while winning 15 of their first 17 games.
The Boston Celtics’ catastrophic performance in Game 4 of the NBA Finals gave them a chance to clinch another championship on Monday night under the 17 banners already hanging in the TD Garden rafters.
And, coach Joe Mazzulla reminded them, that they would still have two more chances after that.
“We don’t like to lose,” Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said before practice on Sunday. “I think we are ready for Game 5. I think that’s the best answer that I’ve got. I think that we’re ready. We’re at home. And we’re looking forward to it.”
The Celtics cruised through the regular season with the best record in the NBA and then did even better in the playoffs, never trailing in a series while winning 15 of their first 17 games. They opened a 3-0 lead on Dallas, but the Mavericks avoided elimination with a 122-84 victory on Friday night — the third-biggest blowout in Finals history.
That sent the series back to Boston, where the Celtics will again try to win their unprecedented 18th NBA title — and their first since 2008. In a city that’s collected 12 championships already this century, that’s what passes for a drought.
“This is what we all work for,” Brown said. “We are at the precipice of completing what we set out to do at the beginning of the season. So I think it’s not difficult to get everybody in that locker room on the same page right now.
