Once trailing 3-0 to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals, the Boston Celtics enter Game 6 as the favorites to complete a historic comeback and advance to the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets.
While Heat superstar Jimmy Butler guaranteed Miami would win, Boston’s Jaylen Brown said the Celtics are confident they can win the game and the series.
“We feel good. I think the belief is strong,” Brown told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin. “Obviously, we got to take reality into our own hands. We got to leave the chance out of it and come out and play hard.”
Brown added the Celtics are expecting the Heat to come out and try to be physical and rough, and Boston needs to be ready for that.
“We got to be mentally tough and mentally strong and persevere through it,” Brown said. “We may not get the calls tonight. On the road it might be a hostile environment. We got to get ready for all those outcomes and we’ve been in a situation before. So I think we have an experience with it, but then you got to come out and play.”
Will history repeat itself for Boston? Can the C’s complete the comeback reminiscent of what the Red Sox did in 2004 against the New York Yankees?
“The more games that we win, the more the fans talk about it. The more the coaches are bringing it up in the locker rooms and it’s possible and it can be done and we believe too,” Brown said. “We believe that one — we are the better team in this series. We haven’t played like it. And two — this is our destiny to be able to make it to the next level. So history is at our doorstep, and we got to respond.”
