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Marc D'Amico

If you’re a Celtics fan and feel like you relived a nightmare Wednesday night, we have news for you: You are not alone.

A year after playing Boston and putting forth one of the most shocking 3-point performances over an entire series in NBA history, Miami did it again – at least for one game – Wednesday at TD Garden.

The Heat shot an incredible 53.5 percent from long range during Game 2 while tying for the third-most 3-pointers ever made in an NBA playoff game, with 23. Tyler Herro was the head of the snake for Miami as he made six 3-pointers, while old foe Caleb Martin rediscovered his magic from last postseason to shoot 5-for-6 from distance.

Miami’s 3-point shooting was the difference in the game. The Heat outscored Boston by 33 points from beyond the arc and never caught a cold spell. As such, there was never an opportunity for the Celtics to stage a comeback.

The closest Boston got during the fourth quarter was five points at the 6:22 mark. That moment, which featured an and-one driving layup by Derrick White, was promptly followed by a 3-pointer from Haywood Highsmith. Moments later, after a Jaylen Brown scored a driving layup, Miami answered with another 3-pointer from Jaime Jaquez Jr.

That 3-pointer was the back-breaker. It pushed Miami ahead by nine with 5:37 to go, and the Celtics never cut that deficit to fewer than six from that moment on.

Jaylen Brown’s Game 1 did not live up to his standards. He certainly responded during Game 2 by pouring in a game-high 33 points against Miami.

Brown found his rhythm during the second quarter, and particularly at the end of that frame, to fuel his big night. He canned three 3-pointers in a span of just 58 seconds, and then finished the half with a running layup to push Boston ahead by three points at the break.

He finished the contest having shot 13-for-23 from the field and 4-for-9 from beyond the arc. He also grabbed eight rebounds to tie three other teammates for the top mark on the team, all while tallying an assist, a steal and a blocked shot over 37-plus minutes of action.

"We've been built on taking what the defense gives us and being able to win in different ways. And so over the course of the season, winning the shot margin the way that we did, and from the free-throw line, more offensive rebounds and less turnovers, that's a recipe for long-term success."

- Joe Mazzulla's outlook following Game 2

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Keys to the Game: Heat 111, Celtics 101

Have you heard about Beneath the Banners? If ya haven’t, ya should.

Beneath the Banners, presented by New Balance, is the Boston Celtics’ all-access series that brings fans as close to the team’s daily ongoings as they’ll ever get – unless they somehow make the team, I guess?

Seriously, this is unprecedented access that no other outlet can provide. Not ESPN. Not NBC Sports Boston. No one.

Think offseason workouts with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in Los Angeles. Think Joe Mazzulla addressing the team in the locker room following big wins and losses. Think car rides to practices and games with members of the team.

Just think about being everywhere with the team, all the time.

This season’s first episode dropped in late-October and featured exclusive War Room access from Draft night, the car ride from the airport with Kristaps Porzingis upon his arrival in Boston, and footage from Tatum’s and Brown’s summer workouts together in Los Angeles, among much, much more. Intrigued? Watch it here.

Now as for the second episode? It just dropped today, and we’re gonna give you the run down of its highlights below. If you feel like skipping the words? Go ahead and watch it here.

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This episode takes us from Media Day through the team’s first game of the season at TD Garden. We’re talking exclusive training camp footage where you can hear Joe Mazzulla coaching the team up, as well as plenty of footage of Paul Pierce supporting the team at camp.

One of the must-watch segments of the episode features new assistant coach Sam Cassell. The content team slapped a mic on Cassell during practice, so you get to listen to his coaching style and delivery to the players. There’s one moment when he’s working with Payton Pritchard and brings up a simple tactic Dwyane Wade used to use to gain an advantage – a move that helped Wade throughout his Hall-of-Fame career and one that could help Pritchard moving forward.

It’s those simple teachings that you’d just never know about without watching Beneath the Banners.

Next up, the episode takes viewers into Opening Night in New York, where the Celtics held off the Knicks during crunch time for a 108-104 win. As the team celebrated in the locker room after the W, a camera caught Mazzulla telling the team, “When we’re the tougher team and we execute, it’s a game-changer. We need games like that in order to grow.”

When was the last time you rode in a car with Brad Stevens? Never? Say no more. We got you.

The next segment is two straight minutes of cutups of Stevens addressing the camera as he drives to the Auerbach Center. He comments on everything from the differences between being the president of basketball operations and being the head coach, to his workload when trying to pull off a trade for the likes of Jrue Holiday, to what he’s paying attention to from a macro perspective.

“You do have times where it’s, sit back and really evaluate at a higher level, to think about the team,” Stevens shared. “Where [the team is] going to be in a few months, where it’s going to be in a few years, where it’s going to be (long term), and where we want to go.”

Stevens has been crushing it in his role of overseeing the team’s basketball operations and building the roster. He put together what is widely considered to be the best top-six rotation in the league, with Derrick White, Holiday, Brown, Tatum, Porzingis and Al Horford combining forces.

That crew has operated at a high level early in the season, and their home opener against Miami was one of the best examples. That matchup is where the episode closes out, showcasing Derrick White’s chase-down block of Jimmy Butler to help the C’s close out a 119-111 win – a partial exorcism of their demons from last season’s Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Heat.

One of the behind-the-scenes cameras caught Brown entering the locker room after the emotional win.

“Way to fight fellas! Way to fight!” he said. “Won’t back down from nobody … We got some dogs in here.”

So what are you waiting for? Do yourself a favor and go watch it now!

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Beneath the Banners Takes Viewers Inside Training Camp and Opening Night

Taylor Snow

BOSTON –&nbsp;Grant Williams grabbed a microphone ahead of Wednesday night’s tip-off against the New Orleans Pelicans and sent a powerful message to a packed house at TD Garden, highlighting the pivotal role Martin Luther King Jr. played in sparking a nationwide fight for social justice, equality, and love among all races and ethnicities.&nbsp;

To understand and experience the power of that love, he encouraged the 18,000-plus fans in attendance to visit Boston Common’s newest memorial, fittingly titled, “The Embrace,” which was officially unveiled at the nation’s oldest public park Friday.

The 20-foot-tall, 40-foot-wide, 38,000-pound bronze masterpiece of interlocking arms was inspired by a photograph of King gleefully hugging his wife, Coretta Scott King, shortly after earning the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. The famous picture was captured in Boston, the city in which their love was forged, and where MLK resided, studied, and preached.

Among those in attendance for the unveiling were King’s eldest son, Martin Luther King III, his daughter-in-law, Arndrea Waters King, and his 14-year-old granddaughter, Yolanda Renee King, who delivered an impactful speech in which she labeled the artwork alternatively as “Love 360.”

Although he couldn’t attend Friday’s celebration since he and the Celtics were on a road trip in his hometown of Charlotte, Williams did participate in the groundbreaking ceremony last April. Team co-owner Steve Pagliuca and the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation felt privileged to be in a position to support the project with a financial contribution.&nbsp;

Of the significance of the memorial, Williams told Celtics.com, “It represents the growth and the embrace of our culture in the community as well as our culture in the world. It describes a sense of how America is on its way and has grown to not only make everyone feel equal, but making us all feel like we’re all meant to belong here. And, it just shows the growth of the city itself; how Boston used to be in the past, it’s not how it is now. It still has work to do, but it just shows that it’s a step in the right direction and we’re fortunate to be a part of it.”

As someone who embraces equality, encourages change, and is prideful of the progression of Boston culture, Williams is honored to use his platform to promote such a monument. Knowing the history that the Celtics have played in fighting for equality, being the first NBA team with an all-Black starting lineup and the first NBA franchise with a Black head coach, he is proud to represent them in such a manner.

“It's something that my predecessors have done, it’s something that Bill Russell, one of my idols did, and it’s something that our community needs,” said Williams. “People in high-power positions, if they use their voice to speak up and speak out, that gives people that aren’t in those positions the right to do the same, even when they feel like they don’t have that right. It’s something that, if we can continue to do our part and encourage others to do theirs, there’s a lot of history that we can change, and also a lot of new history to be made.”

Boston mayor Michelle Wu spoke on the historical significance of the monument during Friday’s celebration in an interview with NBC10 Boston.&nbsp;

“We are a city that is often known for our history of way, way back – our very important role in the American Revolution and what it meant to stand up for freedom,” said Wu, the first woman, the first woman of color, and the first Asian American woman elected to serve as mayor of Boston. “But Boston and the values that we have here have played a role in shaping history all along the way in the most important fights of every generation and we are so honored that Boston’s legacy has intertwined with that of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and of Ms. Coretta Scott King. So, to have that be a part of our firmly embedded history, representing what our country is about, what our city is about, we hope that will spark conversation and draw people in even more.”

The monument is located at the perfect place to draw people in, right in the heart of one of the most trafficked tourist spots in the city. It’s also the first memorial erected on the Boston Common grounds in more than 30 years, and it can be found just south of the Visitor’s Center.

Artist Hank Willis Thomas encourages passersby to stroll across the granite walkway of the 1965 Freedom Plaza and step right inside the massive “Embrace” so that they can feel its powerful love.

“I feel like there’s almost a holy experience,” the memorial’s designer told NBC10 Boston, “because you look up and see the heavens through their embrace, and you can imagine that from a bird’s-eye view, they see you. Through that embrace, we all have the same potential that the Kings did.”

Experiencing that embrace will be one of the first things Williams does when he and the Celtics return from their road trip, and he encourages others to do the same.

“In the 100-plus years that my grandparents and great-grandparents lived, they were never able to see this,” Williams said of the monument and the progress it represents. “So for me to be able to be a part of it, as well as help inspire more moving forward, it’s a really grateful thing in my eyes.”

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Grant Williams Encourages All to Experience the Love of ‘The Embrace’

This past year has been a year of change for the Boston Celtics. With that change came success.

A new president of basketball operations, a new head coach, and several new core players created a sense of rejuvenation within the franchise, which returned the team to its traditional position as a championship contender.

Today, we’re taking a look back at what went right for the C’s, after they rebounded from a 36-36 campaign during the 2020-21 season and an 18-21 start to the 2021-22 season, before tearing their way through the Eastern Conference and into the NBA Finals.

Here are our top five takeaways from the 2021-22 campaign:

Brown and Tatum Reaffirmed They Can Play Together

Amid the post-game chaos following their Game 7, Eastern Conference Finals-clinching win in Miami, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum sought each other out at mid-court and shared a long embrace to celebrate their first NBA Finals berth. Not much of what was said during that intimate moment could be made out on the national broadcast, but as they shuffled around in small circles, arms draped around each other, one laughing exclamation from Tatum came through clearly: “They said we couldn’t play together!”

During Boston’s early-season struggles, Brown and Tatum’s ability to coexist had been a hot topic among national media talking heads, but the star duo was quick to shut them up after an epic mid-season turnaround and run to the Finals. While it’s true that some star pairings don’t work out, especially when they play a similar position, these two have worked tirelessly over the last five seasons to build chemistry and benefit from their complementary skill sets.

Not only did they prove that they can play together, but they repeatedly emphasized how they&nbsp;want&nbsp;to play together for years to come. They drew motivation from all of the negative outside noise earlier in the season and used that to fuel their Finals run. Now that they’ve established themselves as title contenders, they have no plans of slowing down anytime soon.

Smart is a Legitimate Primary Point Guard

Brown and Tatum weren’t the only Celtics who were set on proving doubters wrong. Marcus Smart had a chip on his shoulder throughout the season, as he sought to show the world that he could lead Boston’s offense as its primary point guard.

It took a couple of months for Smart and the C’s to get used to a new offensive system, but by the midway point of the season, they were rolling. After returning Jan. 23 from an injury absence, Smart helped lead the Celtics to an NBA-best 28-7 finish while posting a league-high offensive rating of 120.3.

Boston had the fourth-best assist ratio in the league during that stretch, and Smart had a lot to do with that, posting a team- and career-best 5.9 assists per game, including 6.5 during the second half of the season.

It was widely wondered how transitioning from three consecutive All-Star point guards to the man who backed those players up could possibly be an upgrade, yet that former backup helped to carry the C’s farther than any of those stars had.

Smart didn’t just show that he was capable of being the primary playmaker on a conference champion squad; he also proved that a player in his position could win Defensive Player of the Year. He became the first guard to win the award since Gary Payton in 1996, further solidifying himself as a complete-package starter.

Marcus Smart doesn’t believe that he will be the only member of this Celtics core to win Defensive Player of the Year. After winning the award, he predicted, “One day, Rob will be in this position.”

It wasn’t too bold of a prediction, as Rob Williams almost found himself in that very position this season after earning his first All-Defensive selection as a member of the Second Team.

The fourth-year center had a breakout campaign, leading the NBA in defensive rating with a mark of 102.4 and finishing third in blocked shots with 134 despite missing a quarter of the regular season. He was to the interior what Smart was to the perimeter: a terrifying defensive presence, one which opposing players tried their best to avoid.

To say that he is one of the best rim protectors in the NBA is an understatement. His career block percentage of 8.0 percent ranks third all-time dating back to 1973-74 when the league started recording shot-blocking data.

If Williams can be healthy enough to play a full season, he could very soon find himself in Smart’s shoes, holding that DPOY trophy.

Part of the reason why so many Celtics players had career years was that they had a head coach who knows exactly how to bring the best out of his pupils.

Players such Brown, Tatum, Smart, and Williams wanted a coach who would hold them accountable, treat them as equals, and drive them every single day, and that is exactly what they got out of rookie head coach Ime Udoka.

The Gregg Popovich disciple was tested early and often during his first season, but he remained steadfast in his approach until the Celtics fully grasped his system and turned their season around. He also pushed his stars, called them out when they weren’t giving max effort, and thus toughened them into championship contenders.

Udoka was the only first-year NBA coach to win 50 games this season, the third rookie Celtics coach to reach that mark in franchise history, and the first Celtics coach to win back-to-back Coach of the Month awards since Doc Rivers during the 2007-08 championship season.

Boston couldn’t have hired a more perfect fit to lead their team, and Udoka’s impact should only grow stronger in Year 2.

President Stevens Isn’t Afraid to Make Bold Moves

The Ime Udoka hire was just one of many roster moves that Brad Stevens aced during his first year as President of Basketball Operations.

After Danny Ainge stepped down from his long-time role last spring, Stevens wasted no time stepping in and altering the roster to his liking. He made a blockbuster trade right off the bat, dealing Kemba Walker and a first-round draft pick to Oklahoma City to bring back Al Horford. He then traded for Josh Richardson, signed Dennis Schroder on a bargain deal, and signed Rob Williams to an extension all before the 2021-22 season began.

Stevens wasn’t afraid to mix things up at the trade deadline either, dealing for a versatile ball handler in Derrick White and reacquiring big man Daniel Theis – two moves that helped to bolster the Celtics into a Finals team.

When Boston came up two wins short of the championship, Stevens stated exactly what his team would need to add in the offseason to help get them over the hump: more playmaking, and more scoring off the bench.

So what did he do? He went out and addressed both needs by trading for versatile combo guard Malcolm Brogdon and signing elite sharpshooter Danilo Gallinari, all while not giving up a single piece from this past season’s rotation.

If Stevens made one thing clear during his first year in an executive role, it’s that he’s not afraid to shake up the roster. Not only is he willing to make changes, but he also knows how to make the right changes, as proven by Boston’s deep playoff run.

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Top 5 Takeaways from the 2021-22 Season

After taking a month to digest the energy-shifting Celtics season that we just witnessed, it’s time for us to look back at some of the most noteworthy moments from their epic Finals run.

Not wanting to leave anything out from this memorable season in franchise history, we put together a list of our 15 favorite moments, which have been compiled in chronological order below.

Oct. 24, 2021 – Udoka Earns First Win as Head Coach

After dribbling out the clock in a 107-97 win over the Houston Rockets on Oct. 24, Celtics wing Aaron Nesmith nonchalantly flipped the ball over his shoulder and let it bounce toward center court. But that ball wasn’t about to be left behind in Houston. Not on Timelord’s watch.

Rob Williams sauntered over from the bench toward the Rockets’ logo, eyes locked on the rolling rock as it found the hands of Grant Williams. Rob clapped his hands and called for the ball, which Grant delivered, and then carried it over to the scorer’s table where he presented it to Ime Udoka as a memento from Udoka's first win as an NBA head coach.

Smiling ear-to-ear, Udoka hung onto the ball tightly as Grant Williams came flying in for a chest bump. Jayson Tatum strolled by, congratulating his coach with a handshake, while Udoka’s assistant coaches patted him on the back and shoulder.

When Udoka got back to the visitor’s locker room, the rest of the team was waiting for him with full cups and water bottles, ready to strike. Moments later, he was surrounded by his whooping and hollering Celtics family, who proceeded to drench him from head to toe, as they celebrated his first win of many.

Dec. 4, 2021 – C’s Log Highest-Scoring Output on the Road in 39 Years

Boston’s defense delivered many masterpieces throughout the season, but on Dec. 4 in Portland, it was the offense that stepped up in historic fashion. The Celtics made 14 of their first 15 field-goal attempts, setting the tone for a 145-117 rout of the Trail Blazers, which marked their highest-scoring output on the road in 39 years.

The Celtics scored all of those points despite being without second-leading scorer Jaylen Brown. Dennis Schroder and Jayson Tatum were responsible for the bulk of the scoring, delivering 31 points apiece. Payton Pritchard stepped up with 19 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, in his hometown of Portland.

The most amazing part of the performance is that it occurred on the second night of a back-to-back, just 24 hours after scoring 130 points against the Utah Jazz. It marked the first time in 31 years that Boston scored 130-plus points in consecutive games.

Dec. 22, 2021 – Joe Johnson Returns After 20 Years

The Boston Celtics had several players in the league’s Health and Safety Protocols toward the end of December, which forced them to sign a handful of free agents to 10-day contracts. The most surprising acquisition was that of 40-year-old veteran Joe Johnson, who hadn’t played in an NBA game since 2018.

Johnson’s acquisition also led to perhaps the most surreal moment of the season, given his history with the Celtics. The 6-foot-7 shooting guard was drafted by Boston in 2001 and appeared in 48 games the following season before being traded to the Phoenix Suns. When the seven-time All-Star checked in to a standing ovation late in the fourth quarter of Boston’s Dec. 22 matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, it marked by far the longest period of time between individual appearances with an organization in NBA history. And he sure made the most of it.

The man known as “Iso Joe” got his hands on the ball with about 30 seconds remaining and delivered one of his trademark isolation jumpers from 18 feet out, giving the Celtics a 111-98 lead. The crowd went crazy and the Celtics bench, which included many young players who grew up idolizing Johnson, could hardly contain its collective excitement.

It would be Johnson’s only appearance of the season, but it was certainly one that he and Celtics fans cherished.

Dec. 31, 2021 – Rob Williams Logs Historic Triple-Double vs. Suns

When asked to pinpoint the moment that turned the season around for the Celtics, head coach Ime Udoka often points to their New Year’s Eve blowout win over the Phoenix Suns. The star of that game was Robert Williams, who delivered a triple-double – the first of his career – that was unlike any in NBA history.

The fourth-year center logged 10 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, five blocks, and two steals while shooting 5-for-5 from the field, making him the first player in league history to record a five-block triple-double without missing a shot. He also became the first Celtics player to log a five-block triple-double, period.

Williams’ well-rounded performance was key in guiding the Celtics to a 123-108 victory over a Phoenix Suns team that had entered the day tied with Golden State for the best record in the NBA (27-7). It allowed Boston to end a tough 2021 calendar year on a high note, while setting the tone for what would be a stellar start to 2022.

Jan. 3, 2022 – Brown Becomes 7th Boston Player to Score 50

Jaylen Brown joined an elite list of Celtics players on Jan. 3, as he became the seventh individual in franchise history to reach the half-century mark in the scoring department with a 50-point performance against the Orlando Magic.

The sixth-year wing shot 19-of-29 from the field, 5-of-10 from 3-point range, and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, while helping to lead Boston to a 116-111 come-from-behind win at TD Garden. Nearly half of his scoring – 24 points – was produced during the fourth quarter and overtime, as he guided the Celtics back from a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit to a five-point win.

The Celtics were trailing 96-82 with 4:20 remaining in the fourth quarter before closing out the frame on an 18-4 run. Brown, who had 33 points at the start of the run, supplied nearly all of the scoring from that point forward. He notched 14 points during the last 4:07 of the fourth, including three layups during the final 100 seconds to help push the game into overtime, before lifting them to a win.

Brown joined Larry Bird, Sam Jones, Kevin McHale, Paul Pierce, Jayson Tatum, and Isaiah Thomas as the only Celtics players to score 50 in a game.

Jan. 25, 2022 – Celtics Pull Off Biggest Home Win in Team History

On Jan. 25, the Celtics treated their home crowd to a blowout unlike any they had ever witnessed: a 128-75 win inside TD Garden, which marked the largest margin of victory at home in the franchise’s 75 years of existence.

The 53-point thrashing was the second-largest win in franchise history, falling three points shy of the 56-point victory it produced on Dec. 8, 2018, in Chicago, which came in the form of a 133-77 win over the Bulls.

However, the C’s had never produced such a beatdown in front of their own fans. Prior to that night, they had churned out only one 50-point blowout in 3,128 home games, which was a 153-102 win over the Philadelphia Warriors on March 7, 1962.

Boston was locked in right from the start, as it got off to a 16-4 lead out of the gates, which turned into a 38-13 advantage by the end of the first quarter. The Jays led the scoring charge, as Jayson Tatum dropped in a game-high 36 points, while Jaylen Brown logged 30. Meanwhile, not a single Sacramento player reached double-figures in the scoring department, as the Celtics completed one of their most well-rounded victories on both sides of the ball in team history.

Mid-February 2022 – Tatum Hangs with Celtics Legends at All-Star Weekend

For Jayson Tatum, 2022 All-Star Weekend in Cleveland was less about the game itself and more about the social experience.

It was a special weekend to be a part of, as the NBA celebrated its 75th anniversary with many legends in attendance. Tatum soaked it all in and took advantage of every opportunity he could to link up with players from the past.

The three-time All-Star had several run-ins with players whom he grew up idolizing, such as Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade. He also had an iconic photo op with a group of Celtics Legends, which included Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and Paul Pierce with Tatum posing right in the middle.

There was also an incredible 25-minute halftime ceremony in the middle of the All-Star Game, during which the league honored the 75 greatest players in history. At the end of the ceremony, 46 of the 61 living members of the 75th Anniversary Team were standing together at midcourt as Tatum, his teammates, and an arena full of basketball lovers showered the legends with roaring applause.

Said Tatum of the moment, “It was a dream come true to see all those people.”

February–March/April 2022 – Udoka Becomes C’s 2nd Back-to-Back COTM Winner

Ime Udoka made history in mid-April, becoming the second coach in franchise history to win multiple Coach of the Month awards in the same season, and also the second to do so in back-to-back months.

Udoka earned his first COTM honor following a 9-2 February – just his fourth regular-season month on the job – which made him the first rookie Celtics head coach to receive such recognition. February was a month of defensive dominance for the Celtics, who ranked near the top of the NBA in most categories on that end of the floor. They posted the best defensive rating in the league (101.4), surrendered the fewest number of field goals per game (36.5), allowed the lowest shooting percentage both from the field (40.3 percent) and from 3-point range (31.9 percent), allowed the fewest points per game (100.7), and blocked the most shots per game (6.9).

Udoka re-opened the hardware case a month and a half later after compiling a 15-4 record for games played in March and the first half of April. During this span, it was all about offense for Boston, which posted a league-best offensive rating of 123.4. From March 1 to the end of the regular season, the Celtics ranked second in the East in points per game (120.4), assists per game (28.2), and field-goal percentage (50.4 percent), while also logging the East’s third-best clip from 3-point range (39.6 percent). In terms of advanced shooting stats, the C’s ranked first in the league in both effective field goal percentage (59.2 percent) and true shooting percentage (62.4 percent).

Udoka joined Doc Rivers as the only Celtics coaches to earn multiple COTM recognitions in the same season. Rivers also won the award twice in a row to close out the 2007-08 regular season before embarking on Boston’s most recent championship run.

March 13, 2022 – KG Raises No. 5 to the Rafters

Kevin Garnett’s jersey retirement ceremony was the most anticipated event of the season, and it lived up to the hype in every way imaginable.

The Big Ticket arrived for his big day early in the afternoon and went straight into the Celtics’ locker room, where, in typical KG fashion, he hyped up the current roster ahead of a 3:30 p.m. matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. Throughout the game, a variety of tributes were played on the jumbotron for Garnett, which included highlight reels, blooper reels, and congratulatory messages from former teammates and legends from around the league.

Many of Garnett’s former teammates were also in attendance and joined him on the court after the game for a 50-minute ceremony. One of those players was Hall-of-Famer Ray Allen, with whom Garnett had a strained relationship over the previous decade. But KG used this platform as an opportunity to bury their rift in the most wholesome fashion.

“I want to say something: it’s good to see Ray Allen in here,” he said looking over at Allen, who sat on the court in the first of three rows of Garnett's friends and family members. “It’s good to see you, Ray.”

Overcome with emotion, Allen stood up, walked over to Garnett, and embraced him for the first time since their last season as teammates in 2012. Paul Pierce then joined in to form a group hug, reuniting the New Big 3 at long last in front of a standing ovation from the 19,000-plus fans in attendance.

The ceremony ended with Garnett and his two daughters raising his No. 5 jersey patch up to the rafters, where it will rest eternally among the numbers of other past legends.

March 2022 – Tatum Wins Three Player of the Week Awards in March

Jayson Tatum made franchise history on March 28, as he became the first Celtics player to win back-to-back Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards. He also became just the second player in NBA history to win the award three times in the same month, joining LeBron James, who accomplished the feat in January of 2012.

JT led the Eastern Conference in scoring during March, posting an average of 32.8 points per game while shooting 53.8 percent from the field, 44.7 percent from 3-point range, and 90.5 percent from the free-throw line. It marked the fifth-highest scoring average in a single month for a Celtics player and the highest March average in team history.

The highlight of Tatum’s month was a season-high 54-point effort against the Brooklyn Nets on March 6. He then followed that up with a 44-point performance against the Memphis Grizzlies on March 9, which allowed him to tie Kevin McHale’s franchise record for most points in a two-game span with 98.

Tatum scored 30-plus points in nine out of the 13 games that he played in March, including each of the first five, which set the tone for the greatest month of his career.

April 17, 2022 – Tatum’s Historic Game-Winning Buzzer-Beater

Jayson Tatum delivered the first playoff game-winning buzzer-beater at home in Boston Celtics history on April 17, when he banked in a driving, spinning layup to beat the Brooklyn Nets, 115-114, in Game 1 of the first round at TD Garden.

The Celtics were down by one point with 15 seconds remaining when they forced Kevin Durant into a missed 3-point shot, which Al Horford corralled off the rim to give the Celtics one last chance. Rather than using his last timeout to set up a final play, Ime Udoka placed his faith in his players to make the right decision on the fly, and they trusted his confidence in them.

“You’ve got to give credit to Ime for trusting us in that situation with one timeout to just go,” said Marcus Smart, who delivered 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals. “That’s a big confidence builder for us. The coach trusted us to go out there and make a play and be basketball players.”

Smart was trusted to make the biggest play of the season, and he did. After scrambling up-court, Jaylen Brown drove baseline and kicked it out to Smart on the left wing. Smart pump-faked two Nets defenders out of the way to get a clear view of the basket, but rather than shoot the ball, he drove and dished to a cutting Tatum, who caught the rock in the middle of the paint, spun around Kyrie Irving, and dropped it into the cup.

“I think we all thought Smart was going to shoot it,” said Tatum, who finished with team highs of 31 points and eight assists. “Last-second shot, just crash the glass. If it doesn’t go in, try to make a play. But when he took that dribble, we just kind of made eye contact and he made a great pass. I just had to make the layup.”

April 18, 2022 – Smart Becomes First Guard DPOY in 26 Years

When Marcus Smart entered the Auerbach Center gym on April 18, his teammates were waiting for him with a surprise gift – a gift that hadn’t been received by an NBA guard in nearly three decades: the 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year trophy.

Smart became the first perimeter player to earn the recognition since Gary Payton in 1995-96 and fittingly, the Hall-of-Fame point guard and former Celtic was on hand to present the trophy.

As soon as Payton announced the reason for his presence, Smart was engulfed by his water cup-welding teammates and doused in a celebratory shower – an appropriate way to end such a long drought.

Over eight seasons, Smart has put a lifetime of effort into his play on the defensive end. He guards the best perimeter scorers on a regular basis and consistently finds ways to reduce their effectiveness. He’s constantly hustling, diving for loose balls, deflecting passes, taking charges, fighting through screens – doing all the dirty work and little things that contribute to winning.

The NBA hadn’t rewarded a player of his type in many years, largely because perimeter defenders don’t typically stack up with interior defenders from a statistical standpoint, such as in the rebounding and shot-blocking categories.

“It’s understandable why it was such a big man award,” reflected Smart, the second DPOY in Celtics history along with Kevin Garnett in 2007-08. “They do so much in helping their team on that end. We give so much credit to the big men. But those guards, they’ve been working, we’re the front line; you have to get past us first, and that’s how us guards feel.

"To be able to be named the Defensive Player of the Year and be the first guard since Gary Payton in 1996 to win this, it just shows that it can be done. The way the game is changing, the guards have been more recognized for their ability to do certain things we shouldn’t be able to do at our size, and this award and me winning it opens the path for guards in the future.”

May 15, 2022 – Williams’ Record-Setting Game 7 Lifts C’s into ECF

On the five-year anniversary of Kelly Olynyk’s Round 2, Game 7 heroics against the Washington Wizards, another unexpected hero stepped up for the Boston Celtics in a do-or-die series finale.

With Boston’s season on the line, Grant Williams delivered the game of his life with a game-high 27-point performance, which vaulted the Celtics past the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks for a 109-81 Game 7 win, setting them up for an Eastern Conference Finals showdown with the Miami Heat.
Milwaukee dared Williams to shoot the ball all afternoon following his combined 0-for-3 effort from 3-point range in Games 5 and 6. And the third-year forward made them pay, as he tied an NBA Game 7 record with seven makes from beyond the arc, while also breaking Steph Curry’s Game 7 record for long-distance attempts with 18.

Head coach Ime Udoka said that he spoke with Grant early on about Milwaukee’s loose coverage. “I told him, ‘Let him fly. They're disrespecting you more tonight than earlier in the series.’”

So he let it fly more than any other player on the roster. With 22 field-goal attempts, he took six more shots than Jaylen Brown and eight more than Jayson Tatum. He also attempted twice as many 3-pointers as any other teammate, and his seven 3-point makes nearly doubled the team total for the Bucks, who shot just 4-of-33 from long-distance.

May 24, 2022 – Tatum Earns All-NBA First Team Nod

Jayson Tatum added to his case as a top five NBA talent on May 24, when he earned the highest All-NBA recognition as a First Team selection. The 24 year-old forward was voted to the squad along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, and back-to-back MVP winner Nikola Jokic, marking his second All-NBA nod and first selection to the First Team.

It was the best statistical season of Tatum’s five-year career, as he posted career-high marks of 26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. He tallied a career-best 29 games of at least 30 points, good for the fifth most in the NBA this season. He was one of four players throughout the league to register multiple 50-point games, marking the second straight season in which he has accomplished that feat.

Tatum also played an integral role in helping Boston pull off its remarkable mid-season turnaround, as he averaged 30.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game after the All-Star break.

May 29, 2022 – Tatum Wins Inaugural Larry Bird ECF MVP, Leads C’s into Finals

For the inaugural presentation of the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP award, it was only right to be given to a Celtic Legend in the making.

On May 29, Jayson Tatum brought his Celtics on the road for a do-or-die Game 7 matchup in Miami, and with 26 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and a steal, helped to guide them into the NBA Finals with a 100-96 win.

The Celtics took home their first ECF trophy since 2010, and their 24-year-old superstar got to take home some extra hardware for his remarkable efforts after averaging 25.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 5.6 assists throughout the seven-game series.

“It's an honor,” Tatum said after the game while sitting at a podium with his new trophy by his side. “It still doesn't even seem real right now. I'm just extremely happy and grateful for all of this. Regardless of how long I've been in the league, I'm not too far removed from when I was in high school and when I was dreaming about moments like this.”

top-15-moments-from-the-2021-22-season

Top 15 Moments from the 2021-22 Season

Over the past week-plus, basketball fans were given a glimpse of the NBA's potential up-and-coming talent in the 2022 NBA Summer League showcase. In particular, there were some promising individual efforts that came out of Boston’s summer squad, which went 3-2 during its time in Las Vegas.

Below, we’ve highlighted some of the standout performers, some of whom will have a chance to make their mark with the main roster this coming season.

The most improved Celtics player from the 2021 Summer League to the 2022 session was Juhann Begarin, a 6-foot-5 guard who nearly tripled his scoring average from 6.2 points per game to 18.2 PPG.

Also the most impressive athlete on the floor, Begarin showed off his skills as a dunking machine, speeding coast-to-coast for driving jams and skying toward the roof for alley-oop slams.

Begarin's 91 total points were 17 more than any other player on the team and the prideful defender also led the C's in steals per game (1.8) and minutes per game (31.1).

Begarin’s best showing came in Boston’s final matchup against Brooklyn Saturday night when he erupted for 25 points, shooting 9-of-17 from the field, 3-of-6 from long range, and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, while also collecting seven boards, dishing out three assists, and snagging three steals.

At just 19 years old, the 2021 second-round draft pick is just getting started.

While Begarin was the most improved from last summer to this summer, JD Davison took the crown as the most improved player over the course of the five-game showcase.

Boston’s 2022 second-round pick started off a little slow as he transitioned into the flow of the professional game, but by the end of the week, he had established himself as the best playmaker in the entire Summer League.

The 19-year-old guard averaged 8.2 assists per game, making him the second straight Celtics player to lead the Summer League in that category after Payton Pritchard paced the league with 8.5 last July. Only Lonzo Ball has averaged more assists per game than those two with 9.2 for the Lakers in 2017. Davison finished with 41 total assists, which set a Celtics Summer League record.

Davison also dropped in 13.0 points per game, corralled 4.8 rebounds per game, blocked 1.2 shots per game, and snagged 1.2 steals per game, while averaging 30.3 minutes in five appearances.

In his last two games, Davison stuffed the stat sheet with 45 points, 20 assists, and 11 rebounds, while shooting 58.6 percent from the field, 62.5 percent from 3-point range, and 100 percent from the free-throw line. That included a 28-point, 10-assist, five-rebound, three-steal effort in a 108-91 win over the Memphis Grizzlies Thursday night.

During Saturday night’s broadcast on ESPN, the announcers agreed that Davison could be the steal of the 2022 draft after being selected No. 53 overall. The University of Alabama product will have a chance to show what he's made of in just a few months after earning a two-way contract with the C’s for this coming season.

Although his Summer League was cut short less than two full games in, Sam Hauser still gave a brief glimpse of his sharpshooting prowess.

The 6-foot-8 forward was off to a hot start in Boston’s second game against the Milwaukee Bucks, as he poured in 12 points on 3-of-6 shooting from deep in the first half to help the C’s get off to a 52-44 lead before the break. However, he suffered a shoulder injury just a couple of minutes into the third quarter of that game, and we never saw him again.

Fortunately, in Hauser's case, he had less riding on this Summer League than the other players on the team, given that he was the only player that had already been guaranteed a full-time NBA contract heading into next season. He already showed his value during his rookie season, which was split between Boston and Maine, where he averaged 18.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game with the Celtics' G League affiliate.

Justin Jackson wasn’t on Boston’s initial Summer League roster, but his late addition proved to be critical toward the team’s success.

The 15th overall pick from the 2017 draft was added following Boston’s summer-opening loss to the Miami Heat, and he immediately brought a scoring punch which helped to kick-start a three-game win streak for the C’s.

Jackson scored in double figures in all four of his appearances, finishing third on the team in scoring average at 15.0 points per game. His best effort came right in the middle of the five-game session when he scored a team-high 24 points while knocking down five 3-pointers in a 103-92 win over the Golden State Warriors.

The 27-year-old journeyman and 2021 NBA champion gave Boston veteran leadership throughout the past four games, while also showing why he still deserves consideration for an NBA roster spot.

Perhaps Boston's biggest surprise of the summer was Mfiondu Kabengele, a 6-foot-10, 250-pound center, who made such a good impression that it earned him a contract with the team by the end of the showcase.

Kabengele was statistically the best all-around player on the roster, finishing among the top five in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. He provided an imposing presence around the rim, averaging team-high marks of 8.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. He also finished fourth in both points (14.8) and assists per game (2.4) and was fifth on the steals list (0.8).

The Celtics didn’t want a player of his caliber to slip from their grasp, so they signed him to a two-way contract immediately following their final game of the summer. The former 2019 first-round pick by the Nets will have an opportunity, along with Davison, to split his time between Boston and Portland, Maine this coming season.

Matt Ryan, like Hauser, had his summer cut short just two games into the action. But boy, did he make his mark in the limited time that he spent on the court.

The 6-foot-7 forward led Boston in scoring in both games that he appeared in, dropping 15 points in the opener against Miami and then 23 against Milwaukee. The latter effort against the Bucks was highlighted by a 6-of-11 performance from 3-point range, which included the game-winning triple with 0.8 seconds remaining.

Unfortunately, Ryan got injured on that same game-winner, as he landed awkwardly on his left ankle and remained writhing on the court in pain for several moments, unable to celebrate his heroic shot.

Despite the injury, the 2021-22 Celtics two-way player proved that he can still play at the NBA level. He was a walking bucket in his two appearances, shooting 55.0 percent from the field, 52.6 percent from deep, and 100 percent from the free-throw line, and finished with the most 3-point makes per game (5.0) across the league.

Brodric Thomas’ sharpshooting prowess was right up there with Matt Ryan’s, finishing as the team’s leading 3-point shooter from a volume standpoint. The 6-foot-5 guard connected on the sixth-most long-range shots in the league with a 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) clip from deep in four appearances.

Thomas also excelled in several other areas, joining Kabengele as one of only two Celtics players to finish among the top five in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. He was third on the team in assists (2.5), steals (1.3), and blocks per game (0.8), while also finishing fourth in rebounds (5.3) and points per game (13.3).

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