Celtics Decade Night: Recapping the 2000s

On Wednesday night, the Celtics will host their third “Decade Night” of the season in celebration of theirs and the NBA’s 75th anniversary.

So far, the team has already commemorated the 1960s and 1980s. Next up on the list is the 2000s, upon which they’ll look back during a matchup against one of their top rivals from that decade – the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Throughout the night, fans at TD Garden will be taken back in time to relive some of the team’s most memorable moments from the 2000s, many of which we have included in our decade recap below.

After missing the playoffs for a franchise-record six straight seasons, the Celtics found their way back into the postseason in 2002 while riding on the back of the NBA’s scoring leader.

Paul Pierce tallied 2,144 points, becoming the first player in franchise history to lead the league in that category. He also became the first Celtics player to log back-to-back seasons of 2,000-plus points since Larry Bird did so from 1985-88.

Under the guidance of Jim O’Brien in his first full year as head coach, the Celtics posted their first 40-win season in 10 years with a 49-33 mark. They wound up advancing all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals where they lost to New Jersey in six games.

Pierce, like any NBA player, occasionally suffered a shooting slump. What set him apart from others was his ability to snap out of a cold spell mid-game and catch fire. Game 3 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals was the perfect example of that.

Pierce missed 12 of his first 14 shots during Boston’s series-tiebreaking matchup with the New Jersey Nets. The entire Celtics squad was struggling, as it trailed by as many as 26 points during the third quarter and entered the fourth frame down 74-53.

It seemed like an impossible deficit to overcome – in fact, no team in postseason history had ever come back from a 21-point fourth-quarter disadvantage. Up until that point, playoff teams were 171-0 when heading into the final frame with a lead of 19 points or more.

Boston, under the leadership of its captain, was about to change that.

Pierce opened up the fourth quarter with a baseline, driving layup, and never looked back. He went on a tear, scoring 19 points during the final frame on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. His point total during the quarter eclipsed the point total of the entire Nets team, as the Celtics outscored them 41-16 during the final 12 minutes en route to an improbable 94-90 win.

The Celtics took a 2-1 lead in the series but never won again after that. Regardless, the historic performance will still go down as one of Pierce’s most memorable efforts.

Over a span of three seasons, the Celtics made some monumental moves in their front office. First, the ownership changed hands, then they brought in a new general manager, and finally, they hired a new coach before eventually piecing together a championship roster.

On Dec. 31 2002, Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C., led by H. Irving Grousbeck, Wycliffe Grousbeck, Steve Pagliuca, Robert Epstein, David Epstein, and John Svenson completed the purchase of the team from Paul Gaston. It was the first group of local owners since the passing of the team’s original owner, Walter Brown, in 1964.

A little more than a year later, amidst a playoff series with the New Jersey Nets, the team announced that former Celtics guard Danny Ainge would be returning in an executive role as the team’s Director of Basketball Operations. The following month, Ainge would make his first of many acquisitions by drafting Marcus Banks and Kendrick Perkins, who would later go on to play a critical role in the team’s rise toward Banner 17. Ainge remained in the role for 18 years before stepping down in the spring of 2021, making way for Brad Stevens to transition from his role as head coach into the President of Basketball Operations position.

One year after Ainge’s hiring, he brought in Doc Rivers to become the 16th head coach in franchise history. Rivers led the team to a 45-37 record during his first season in 2004-05, leading the C’s to their first Atlantic Division title since 1991-92.

The Celtics won only 24 games during the 2006-07 season, but they did bring home one major victory from All-Star Weekend: the Slam Dunk Contest crown. Second-year guard Gerald Green defeated reigning winner Nate Robinson, eventual two-time champ Dwight Howard, and Tyrus Thomas to become the second player in franchise history to be crowned Slam Dunk champion after Dee Brown in 1991.

Green paid tribute to Brown in one of his dunks, as he donned the former Celtic’s No. 7 jersey and jumped over Robinson while putting his arm over his eyes, commemorating Brown’s renowned no-look slam from the '91 contest.

Green also scored a perfect 50 on his final dunk of the night when he soared over a table for a windmill slam.

In the summer of 2007, Danny Ainge pulled off a series of moves that both sparked the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history and carved out a path for the team’s 17th championship banner.

After finishing with a 24-58 record in 2006-07, the Celtics were hoping to land the top pick in the draft so that they could select a rising star around whom they could build their future. However, when they fell to No. 5 in the Draft Lottery, Ainge decided to change course by going after experienced stars on the trade market.

Ainge selected Jeff Green with the No. 5 pick and then packaged him into a deal along with Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, and a future second-round pick which was sent to Seattle in exchange for seven-time All-Star Ray Allen and draftee Glen Davis.

One month later, the Celtics made one of the biggest blockbuster trades in league history by shipping five players and two future first-round draft picks to Minnesota in exchange for 10-time All-Star and former league MVP Kevin Garnett.

With the additions of Allen, Garnett, and a few experienced veterans such as Eddie House and James Posey to Paul Pierce’s side, the Celtics pulled off the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history, going from a 24-win team to a 66-win team that would go on to win the title.

Of the 134 Game 7s that have taken place in NBA history, none have featured an individual battle quite like the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals showdown between Paul Pierce and LeBron James.

With a trip to the conference finals on the line, it was anticipated that the rival superstars would bring their A-Game to the series finale. And boy, did they, as Pierce and James traded bucket after bucket to combine for 86 points.

The Cavaliers, who trailed by 10 at halftime, pulled within three points during the closing minutes of the game, thanks to James’ 45-point effort. Pierce, however, had more ice in his veins, and the Celtics let him take over to close out the game.

In Kevin Garnett’s words, “It was get Paul Pierce the ball and get the hell out of the way.”

Pierce hit 13 shots on 23 attempts from the field, but his biggest make came during the closing seconds of the game from the free-throw line.

The Celtics were up 95-92 with 7.9 seconds remaining when their captain was intentionally fouled. His first attempt clanked off the back of the rim and caromed straight up in air, allowing Cleveland’s hopes to remain alive; however, the ball miraculously made it through the hoop on its way down, causing Pierce to laugh in disbelief.

That shot helped seal a 97-92 win and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. It also gave Pierce a personal win in the greatest individual showdown of his career, and arguably the greatest one-on-one battle in Game 7 history.

Thirty-four years after Boston’s Game 4 win in the 1984 Finals came another pivotal Game 4 win over the Lakers. After building a 2-1 series lead, the Celtics fell into an early 35-14 hole in Game 4 at STAPLES Center, marking the largest first-quarter deficit in Finals history. The Lakers went up by as many as 24 points and were well on their way to tying up the series until Boston pulled off the improbable.

The Celtics went on a 21-3 run in the third quarter and eventually took their first lead of the game with just over four minutes remaining in the final frame. Boston’s Big 3 of Paul Pierce (20 points), Kevin Garnett (16 points, 11 rebounds), and Ray Allen (19 points) led the charge, while Eddie House and James Posey combined for 29 points off the bench to help lead the C’s to a 97-91 win.

That game broke the back of L.A., as it went from potentially tying up the series to facing elimination with two of the final three scheduled games to be played on the road.

However, it only took two more games for Boston to shut the door on L.A. After losing Game 5, 103-98, at STAPLES Center, the Celtics returned home for what would be the most dominant championship-clincher in NBA history.

After a wobbly first quarter, Boston broke open the game, outscoring the Lakers 34-15 in the second frame. From there, L.A. never stood a chance, as the Celtics cruised to a 131-92 victory.

It was a near-perfect game across the board for Boston, which logged massive advantages in total rebounds (48-29), offensive rebounds (14-2), assists (33-16), steals (18-4), blocks (4-0), and turnovers (7-19).

Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett led the way with 26 points apiece, while the former set a then-Finals single-game record with seven 3-point makes. Rajon Rondo stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and six steals, while eventual Finals MVP Paul Pierce chipped in with 17 points and 10 assists.

After Doc Rivers got his red Gatorade shower (courtesy of Pierce) and the final buzzer sounded, the Celtics stormed the TD Garden court to celebrate their first championship win in 21 years. It was then that Garnett, who had joined the team 11 months prior and had soaked his Celtics uniform with blood, sweat and tears in an effort to achieve his lifelong dream, shouted to the rafters, “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!”

That statement rang true for the entire Celtics organization after winning just 24 games the previous season. And to end their championship drought against their archrival in such convincing fashion was the cherry on top.