Kendrick Perkins saw something from the Celtics on Monday night that he hasn’t seen from a Boston team in over a decade.
For a moment, it looked like the second-seeded Celtics were about to face a 3-1 deficit in their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Bucks. Milwaukee stretched its lead to as big as 11 points in the third quarter and everything — including the officiating — felt like it was going the reigning NBA champions’ way.
But thanks to a hard-fought fourth quarter in which the visitors outscored Giannis Antetokounmpo and company 43-28, the C’s willed themselves to a Game 4 win at Fiserv Forum that leveled the best-of-seven set at two games apiece. From Perkins’ perspective, Boston’s commitment to winning Monday was on par with the spirit the Celtics’ last Finals-winning team brought on a game-by-game basis throughout its playoff run.
“I haven’t seen that type of Celtic pride since 2008!!!,” Perkins tweeted. “Tatum did his thing but the tone was set by big Al. The Garden going to be ROCKING for Game 5!!! Carry the hell on…”
The battle for a trip to the conference finals now has turned into a best-of-three, and the C’s will have the luxury of playing two of those games at TD Garden should the series go the distance. Boston can put Milwaukee on the brink of elimination Wednesday when the sides meet for Game 5.
