Boston Celtics Epic Comeback

I must honestly say I fully expected the NBA Final to be tied at 2 games apiece. Game 4 saw the Los Angeles Lakers led the Boston Celtics by as much as 24 points on their home court. With six and a half minutes left in the 3rd quarter, the Lakers had a 70-50 lead. But the Celtics never gave in and went on a 21-3 run to finish the quarter only two points behind the Lakers. The Celtics finally took the lead in the 4th quarter with only four minutes left in the game on a field goal by Eddie House, who was very effective off the bench. The Celtics never looked back and won the game 97-91 to take a 3 games to 1 series lead. It was the biggest comeback in an NBA Final since 1971. The Celtics could clinch the NBA Final with a victory on Sunday. No team has ever come back in the NBA Final from a 3-1 deficit although Paul Pierce made a point of stating the Celtics couldn't count on that.

The Big Three of Pierce (20 points), Kevin Garnett (16 points, 11 assists) and Ray Allen (19 points) made their presence felt. Indeed, Allen played all 48 minutes of the game. Pierce managed to limit Kobe Bryant to 17 points (he scored 36 points in Game 3). But it was the bench that was the difference with the aforementioned House (11 points) and James Posey (18 points). Assuming the Celtics don't collapse, we can point to Game 4 where the 2007-2008 Celtics finally stood alongside the likes of Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Bill Russell, Jo Jo White, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, Robert Parrish and, of course, Red Auerbach.