The Boston Celtics reaffirmed something Wednesday night: This is not a team that will go away quietly.
For much of the second half of their date with Oklahoma City Thunder, the Celtics looked to be well on their way to a lopsided loss. Russell Westbrook had entered full-on MVP super freak mode, and OKC led by 15 at the halfway point of the fourth quarter.
That seemed like a one-way ticket to blowout city, but rather than pack it in, Boston’s offense began to stir. A steady beat of layups and free throws whittled the deficit to single digits, and 3-pointers by Marcus Smart and Kelly Olynyk cut it to five with 2:30 to play.
That lead was back to 11 a minute later, but the Celtics again refused to quit. Boston scored 13 points over the final 35 seconds, and while OKC ultimately claimed a 122-118 win, Brad Stevens’ club made the Thunder earn it until the very end.
“We competed,” the Celtics coach told reporters after the game. “I thought we were fighting, physical. I thought we looked short on some of our shots in the second half, and that’s because we were playing hard. We were playing really hard. But we didn’t balance poise and assertiveness well at the level you need to to win in this building in a game where (the Thunder) played really well.”
This is the mindset the Celtics have embraced as they continue their unlikely push toward the playoffs. In 29 games since beginning a six-game West Coast swing back on Jan. 19 — the date the team’s fortunes began to trend upward — Boston has lost by double digits just twice: a 12-point slip-up to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the final game of that trip and a 31-point beatdown at the hands of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this month.
Of course, the margin of defeat ultimately means nothing. A loss is a loss, be it by one point or 50. That’s not the point here, though.
The point is that the Celtics have been in almost game they’ve played over the last two months. Even the duds (losses to the Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers, for example) still had enough redeeming qualities to be one- or two-possession games in the final minutes.
The Celtics will need this “finish strong” mentality if they hope to make their postseason dream a reality (they entered Thursday as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference). And if they do, whichever higher seed they play had better be ready for a battle.
Thumbnail photo via Mark D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports Images
