After winning Game 3 of the NBA Finals over the Golden State Warriors and taking a 2-1 series lead, things looked real good for the Boston Celtics.
Stephen Curry seemed to be the only Warrior playing well offensively, and Draymond Green, the heart and soul of the team, didn’t seem like himself emotionally or spiritually.
But the Warriors took Game 4 by 10 points to tie the series and regain the home-court advantage.
With Game 5 and Game 7 (if necessary) back in California, the edge seems to have swung back to Curry and company, especially after his heroic 43-point, 10-rebound performance on Friday.
Knew it was about to be a long night for Celtics when Steph did this in the first quarter lmaoo no way he was losing today pic.twitter.com/FZmtt6TZdG
— Beke (@BK9419) June 11, 2022
For the Celtics to remain on track for their 18th world championship, they are going to likely need to do more than play up to their standards.
They will need the old luck of the Irish.
The Warriors Earned Game 4
Through three quarters of Game 4, the Celtics looked to be controlling the game, but the Warriors kept things close.
It seemed that Boston perhaps should’ve been up by about 10 points, but it couldn’t keep Golden State at bay.
With Curry playing at a Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant level, the Warriors got the win they sorely needed.
But they did so because of another reason – good old-fashioned hard work.
After getting out-rebounded in Game 3 by 16, the Warriors flipped the script on Friday by grabbing 13 more boards than the Celtics.
Although Green had another bad offensive game, he contributed nine rebounds, eight assists, and four steals, which is the type of production they usually get out of him.
It looks like Curry is the best player in the series so far, while Jayson Tatum is having a dreadful series.
At least one of the remaining games in this series is bound to be decided in the final minute or two, and although few want to admit it, luck plays a factor in the outcome of such contests.
We’re talking about the type of luck the Celtics have had in decades past.
The Leprechaun Has Worked Its Magic In The Past
Long-time Celtics fans will recall John Havlicek‘s famous steal in the closing seconds of Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Division Finals to preserve a series win for Bill Russell‘s Celtics.
In Game 2 of the 1984 Finals, guard Gerald Henderson stole a pass from Los Angeles Lakers great James Worthy and scored a layup in the final seconds to help tie that series.
Then there was Larry Bird stealing an inbound pass from Isiah Thomas at the end of Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals and feeding Dennis Johnson for the game-winning bucket.
Against a team like the Warriors that has a deep championship pedigree, not to mention an all-time great in Curry, perhaps a great performance from Tatum won’t be enough to take the Celtics to the brink of the championship.
If luck isn’t on Boston’s side, things could turn out the way they did in 2010, the last time Boston reached the Finals.
That’s when they gained a 3-2 lead over Kobe Bryant’s Lakers, only to blow a 13-point lead in the second half of Game 7 and go as cold as a Massachusetts nor’easter.
10 year anniversary of the Lakers 13pt second-half comeback vs Celtics in game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals pic.twitter.com/gpchUaeEpC
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) June 18, 2020
The Lakers took home the Larry O’Brien trophy, while the Celtics schlepped home crying and licking their wounds.
NEXT: Jayson Tatum Is Following In Legendary Footsteps This Postseason