We all knew it was coming, almost instinctually — and we all knew it was going in. With the Boston Celtics holding a most tenuous of leads over the Golden State Warriors with less than two minutes left in regulation, Stephen Curry his a miracle 3 to tie the game up at 121-121.
Forcing overtime after a hobbled Jayson Tatum foisted a questionable late-clock trey as he is wont to do when hurt or tired, the Warriors leaned into their usual plan of speeding Boston up in halfcourt possessions, letting Boston panic and over-correct to the Warriors advantage. We’ve all seen this movie before, and the ending sucks.
Boston’s Derrick White, who very nearly blocked the shot, related how the all-time great got one off in his face to ultimately secure the win for the Dubs.
Celtics Lab 232: Celebrating Boston's sizzling start with Max Lederman – and a Festivus for the rest of us https://t.co/l7tKrMjpx4 pic.twitter.com/JwepnpGROn
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 19, 2023
“I kind of relaxed for a split-second then that’s all it takes with him,” said White via The Athletic’s Jared Weiss. “(He) made a great shot, but as soon as you relax, it’s over.”
“He’s the greatest shooter of all time. You give him a good look at the rim or even any look at the rim — we’ve seen it for a while now where nothing really surprises you. Like I said earlier, that split hesitation cost us that 3 right there. They’re a great team. When you play against great teams, it’s always going to come down to those little things, back-and-forth, it’s a lot of fun to play against.”
“Hopefully we get back to it,” added White.
Should the Boston Celtics ask after the trade availability of Houston Rockets forward Jae'Sean Tate? https://t.co/Hz0DBevHrJ pic.twitter.com/BvyBGxPKCM
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 20, 2023
If by “back to it,” the Colorado native means “get over the ghost of the 2022 NBA Finals and finally play the Warriors at the level they are capable,” it’s likely safe to say that there is a legion of Boston fans who couldn’t agree more.
And given this is exactly the archetype of a ball club Boston needs to best if it wants to hang Banner 18, hopefully the Celtics “get back to it” in a hurry.
Shams: Celtics are 'going to be aggressive' in searching for bench upgrades https://t.co/9LtMJltQaa pic.twitter.com/8vwkbOiIaS
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 20, 2023
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ
