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BOSTON – If the Boston Celtics have taught the NBA one thing this season, it’s that they can never be counted out.
They served up another reminder of that fact during Sunday night’s Game 4 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
Boston fell behind Atlanta by as many as 16 points during the second half of a pivotal matchup at TD Garden. Yet somehow, as they have done time and time again this season, they turned the tables and battled back for a crucial 104-95 overtime win.
“We never give up,” a smiling Isaiah Thomas said after the victory, with his two young sons sitting to his left at the podium. “No matter if we’re down 20 – sometimes guys will be on the bench and be like, ‘It doesn’t even feel like we’re down 20. We know we’re going to come back.’”
That’s exactly what they did Sunday night, and they did so in a hurry.
Atlanta’s lead maxed out at 16 points at the 7:58 mark of the third quarter when Kent Bazemore drained a 3-pointer from the right wing. That lead nearly vanished by the time the quarter came to an end, as Jonas Jerebko’s 3-pointer with 20.4 seconds left in the frame brought Boston within three points heading into the fourth.
Another five points from Jerebko, all in the first 39 seconds of the fourth quarter, gave the Celtics a 74-73 lead and sent the Garden crowd into hysteria.
“We just kept at it, knowing what was at stake and we just stayed the course,” Thomas said. “That says a lot about this team, and our fans continued to cheer, continued to help us out energy-wise. We fought back and we got the win.”
The two teams eventually went to an overtime session, which Boston dominated from the get-go. The Celtics shot 4-of-5 from the field during the added time, all while forcing Atlanta into 10 misses on 11 shots and outscoring the Hawks 12-3.
While many on the outside of Boston’s locker room were surprised by the comeback, those inside the locker room expected it. Many of these Celtics share one unique quality that drives them in the right direction when the going gets tough.
“We have a group of guys that just always have been counted out their entire life,” said Thomas. “So when you’ve been counted out, you’ve never been given anything, and we just keep fighting. We continue to fight and we keep believing in each other, and stuff usually works out in our favor.”
The comeback victory marked Boston’s 13th of the season after it trailed by at least 10 points, and its fourth of the season after it trailed by at least 15 points, according to Elias Sports Bureau and 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Sean Grande. That means that more than a quarter of its 50 victories – 26.0 percent, to be exact – on the season have been of double-digit comeback variety.
“I think one of our most redeeming qualities as a team is the guys are really – they’re fighters,” Brad Stevens said after the game. “They never give up. They play to the end. Even in games where we didn’t really have it, they’ve done that.”
The Hawks had first-hand knowledge of Boston’s fight; they led by as many as 19 points during Game 1 before barely holding on for a 102-101 win. Memories of that game were fresh in their minds, and that stirred Atlanta’s collective nerves, according to three-time All-Star Paul Millsap.
“Maybe too much,” he said of how cognizant the Hawks were of Boston’s comeback abilities. “I think we took our foot off the pedal. I think we maybe pressed a little bit to try to get them out of the game.”
The Celtics? They didn’t press at all. They just shifted into overdrive and blew past the Hawks for what may have been a series-shifting win.