The Celtics are heading back to Boston with the Eastern Conference finals tied at two games apiece following the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Game 4 win Monday night.
The C’s played awful in Cleveland, suffering a 30-point loss in Game 3 and a nine-point defeat in Game 4 at Quicken Loans Arena.
TD Garden has been a comforting place for this young Celtics team, as it’s 9-0 record in the playoffs shows. If Boston’s home record isn’t enough to give Celtics fans hope for Game 5 on Wednesday night, this trend might do the trick.
The Celtics have won 10 consecutive Game 5s at home when the series is tied 2-2.
Here’s a list of those victories, the last of which came in the first round against the Milwaukee Bucks last month.
2008, First Round vs. Hawks
2008, Second Round vs. Cavaliers
2008, Conference Finals vs. Pistons
2009, First Round vs. Bulls
2009, Second Round vs. Magic
2010, NBA Finals vs. Lakers
2012, Second Round vs. 76ers
2017, First Round vs. Bulls
2017, Second Round vs. Wizards
2018, First Round vs. Bucks
The Celtics won eight of those 10 series. The only series they came up short in were the 2009 conference semifinals against the Orlando Magic and the 2010 NBA Finals versus the Los Angeles Lakers.
The C’s also are 37-0 when leading a series 2-0, which they did after two wins to begin this Eastern Conference finals.
But while history might be on the Celtics’ side, beating LeBron James is one of the toughest tasks in sports.
The Celtics are fortunate to have two of the final three games at home, and they need to use that advantage to their benefit as winning a Game 6 in Cleveland trailing 3-2 seems like an impossible challenge right now.
