Garden Party: Again! Again!
The recipe for success for the Celtics in
Shooting 50 percent from three certainly helped, but do the Celtics need all that to beat the Knicks? Probably not. Anything but the 25-percent horror shows/late-game meltdowns/handing-the-ball-directly-to-Mikal-Bridges-on-final-possessions nonsense Boston managed in the first two games and we'd probably be talking about brooms tonight instead of a potentially tied series.
But hey, them's the breaks, and here we are.
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That said: tonight's Game 4 is a big one, with the outcome determining whether the Celtics return to Boston Wednesday with home-court advantage restored or with zero margin for error left in their title defense. No pressure, guys.
Let's get into it.
About last night and what's on deck
Cleveland? Are you there?
The Cavaliers got smoked by the Pacers on Sunday.
Michael Conroy/Associated Press
Here's what you need to know about Sunday's games:
🏀 The Cavaliers' dream season looks ready to come crashing down, as Cleveland trailed by as many as 44 points in falling behind 3-1 in the series to the Pacers in a 129-109 loss to Indiana.
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🏀 The Thunder ground out an important win on the road, tying their series with the Nuggets in a rock fight in Denver that OKC took, 92-87.
🏀 The Warriors host the Timberwolves for Game 4 of a Western Conference series Monday (10 p.m., ESPN), with Stephen Curry still sidelined. Can Golden State stay alive long enough for Curry to return?
🏒 The Stars blitzed the Jets with a three-goal third period to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
🏒 Brad Marchand's Panthers (that still feels wrong to say out loud) tied that series against the Maple Leafs with a 2-0 win at home.
🏒 A pair of Game 4s are on tap Monday, with the Hurricanes looking to take a 3-1 lead over the Capitals (7 p.m., TNT) before the Oilers look to do the same against the Golden Knights (9:30 p.m., TNT).
🗓️ Up next:
The Celtics will face the Knicks for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m., ESPN).
In the know
Witches, Vikings, Knicks — oh my!
Salem High boys' basketball coach Tom Doyle played high school basketball at Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse with New York Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson when both were students at Salem High.
Matt Porter
A great story to start the week:
Amin: What was the most interesting or surprising thing you learned through your reporting for this story?
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Matt:
I hadn't been to Salem High's field house before, so I was not aware of the rubber court. The new one, which is sand-colored, was laid over an old red one (you can still see the red in a few worn-through spots). All of which is laid over cement. I imagine the combination of that floor and a young Rick Brunson made some opponents limp out of there 35 years ago.
Amin: Did you get the sense that Brunson and Thibs are still really remembered and discussed by folks in Salem for their basketball exploits, or are they mostly just known by those (like Tom Doyle) who were around them at the time?
Matt:
Who knows (though I lean toward the latter). That was a long time ago. One thing a few people mentioned was there were — are? — Basketball Junkies on the North Shore, who roamed in the same pack, showing up to the summer league and to winter games in Danvers, Peabody, Salem, Lynn, etc. ... if they're still out there, I bet they're having flashbacks this morning.
For the group chat
We need a tarot reading, stat!
[PHOTO]
Are the Celtics and Cavaliers cosmically linked?
Well, you better hope not. But
Entered the second round as heavy favorites having won 60-plus games in the regular season, facing fairly middling teams in the Eastern Conference semis;
Fell behind 0-2 at home in stunning fashion with late-game collapses;
Blew at least one 20-point lead in a home loss (the Celtics did it twice for extra credit);
Restored order with a blowout Game 3 road win by exactly 22 points.
Coincidence? Divine intervention? The NBA rigging games for TV ratings like that one guy in my email inbox every week swears is happening? (We see you Larry!)
If you're a Celtics fan, you're hoping this trend does
not
hold for Game 4, seeing as the Cavaliers were absolutely throttled in historic fashion last night, trailing by 41 at the half in one of the most lopsided playoff games in NBA history.
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Perhaps we all considered a Celtics-Cavaliers Eastern Conference finals to be too much of a foregone conclusion and fate is punishing us. Perhaps Boston and Cleveland are just star-crossed opponents, destined not to meet this year. Perhaps this is the universe trying to spare Northeast Ohio native and Garden Party co-author Emma Healy from my jokes about the city of Cleveland after a Celtics sweep. Could be anything.
In any case, Boston might be up against the very cosmos this evening. Read your horoscopes, align your chakras, and buckle in — if the Knicks lead by 40 at halftime, don't say I didn't warn you.
Go deeper
Three stories you shouldn't miss
Knicks guard Josh Hart (left) said New York needs to show more urgency.
Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
🏃➡️ Searching for urgency:
Tom Thibodeau said it best: The Knicks can't be indecisive in this series.
🧙 From Salem to MSG:
Rick Brunson and Tom Thibodeau were basketball icons in Salem, dividing some loyalties in the Witch City.
⭐ Star power:
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown still haven't delivered their best performances. Could Game 4 be the one?
Amin Touri can be reached at
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