INDIANAPOLIS — So yeah, a thousand times over, what happened Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse will be remembered by longtime Celtics fans as a “Havlicek stole the ball” moment.
But wait! Just as important, and maybe even more important, is that what happened Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse will likely be remembered by not-so-old Celtics fans as their fun visit to the 2008 NBA Finals and their epic upset against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center.
Let's start with steals. “Holiday stole the ball!” sounds a lot like “Havlicek stole the ball!” Jrue Holiday stole the ball from Andrew Nembard late in the night and then made two free throws to lead the Celtics to a 114-111 win over the Indiana Pacers. The comparison, of course, is to what happened in Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Division Finals. Havlicek counted down a little in his head, then leapt into the air at just the right time to smash Hal Greer's inbounds shot and seal a 110-109 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Now, let's put aside the “Holiday/Havlicek stole the ball!” talk for a moment and discuss the many ups and downs prior to Holiday's steal. Specifically, the Celtics were down by 18 points in Game 3. The Celtics were losing in part because Nembard was having a game he'll tell his grandkids about before Holiday's steal. Nembard finished the night with 32 points. The Pacers were unbeaten at home during the postseason, and they showed why in Game 3 of this series. The Pacers came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and they showed why in Game 3 of this series.
But the Celtics also fell behind because they developed a habit of hitting 3-pointers off the backboard or missing them altogether.
It was at this moment that Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, who just a season earlier had been dismissed as not yet fit for prime time, suddenly revealed himself to be a wise old hand.
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Going further
Holiday got the ball! But the Celtics “went all out” to win Game 3
