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That went insanely onerous.
I by no means knew how a lot I wanted the Celtics to start out hacking Andre Drummond to increase their 32-point lead within the fourth quarter. I by no means knew how a lot I wanted to relentlessly scoreboard-watch on a Tuesday night time, begging the Charlotte Hornets to attain some factors and for the Brooklyn Nets to get it collectively… however not too collectively.
And I by no means knew I’d be begging for Svi Mykhailiuk and Co. to hold onto a 23-point result in give the Celtics an opportunity on the knockout spherical of the In-Season Match. That was so, completely superior, and the Celtics accomplished step one among their quest for the NBA Cup. If all of that appears like a lifeless language from historical Mesopotamia, let me rapidly run you thru the fundamentals.
With the intention to clinch Group C, the Celtics wanted to beat the Bulls by 23 or extra (verify), whereas the Brooklyn Nets wanted to win by eight fewer factors than the Celtics received by (verify). Had the Nets misplaced, the Orlando Magic would have received the head-to-head tiebreaker with Boston. However for the reason that Nets maintain the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Magic, their win triggered the second-level tiebreaker: level differential, which the Celtics personal.
If that also sounds Mesopotamian (or simply don’t care), the Celtics are into the bracket. Time to pop the champagne, so let’s have fun by watching this Sam Hauser put-back dunk:
Tuesday night time was probably my favourite night time of normal season basketball ever. As at all times, the Celtics got here in with one job: win the sport. However final night time particularly, that job got here with like twenty different non-obligatory facet quests, and by the fourth quarter the Celtics had been principally enjoying a unique sport.
Due to numerous wild-card eventualities, the Celtics had been in impact enjoying towards 4 groups directly. They wanted to beat the Bulls by 23, but in addition the Knicks by 18 and the Nets by eight. They usually additionally wanted the Nets to win, so that they had been in some way enjoying the Raptors, too. What continent am I on proper now?
I used to be completely locked in for it, and apparently so was all people else. It introduced out a bizarre facet of the NBA I didn’t even know was there, and I used to be so right here for sweating out 23-point blowouts on a Tuesday in November. Joe Mazzulla was ordering his workforce to deliberately foul Drummond up 30 with seven minutes left, and Bulls head coach Billy Donovan was livid.
That type of conduct will get you fired for those who coach highschool basketball, however is seemingly inspired one night time a 12 months within the NBA. The Bulls clearly took offense to the Celtics’ antics, preventing tooth and nail to convey their margin of loss underneath 23, actually for no motive aside from to get again at Boston. It was superb, arresting tv, and I used to be right here for all of it.
Sweating out the bench boys holding the road with two minutes to go in a blowout is a very new feeling for me, as was frantically flipping to the Nets-Raptors sport to will the Nets to victory. Rooting for the Nets was an out-of-body expertise contemplating all these years I prayed on their downfall for draft picks, so right here’s a stay re-enactment:
(Mikal Bridges nook three): “Take me dwelling Mikal… TAKE ME HOME MIKAL!!!”
(OG Anunoby dives at Cam Johnson): “That’s a foul! That’s not a soar—he hugged him! That’s a foul!!”
(Royce O’Neal pump pretend): “Shoot that Royce… hit that—hit it Royce… ROYCE! BIG SHOT ROYCE!!”
It was fully uncontrolled. By the point the ultimate buzzer sounded, my watch had instructed me to take a deep breath eleven instances. Give me a second to gather myself.
Now that we’re all collected, let’s do some housekeeping. It’s essential to notice that the Celtics got an unfair benefit over the Magic, as enjoying on the final day of group play meant understanding precisely what number of factors they wanted to win by and alter their technique accordingly.
I’d be a bit bitter if I used to be a Magic fan proper now, particularly since they beat the C’s straight up and nonetheless received eradicated. However I’m not a Magic fan, so I don’t care! Hahahaha—no. Keep collected.
What I do care about is how the Porzingis-less Celtics kicked it right into a gear we hadn’t seen shortly. They didn’t a lot put the pedal to the steel as they grabbed a cinder block and dropped it straight on the accelerator. It was all fuel, no brakes for 48 minutes, and the Celtics regarded sure of who they had been for the primary time all 12 months.
They took all that certainty out on the Bulls, a workforce that may simply suck. Till the Celtics made them mad by fouling Drummond, Chicago regarded like a workforce that already knew half the workforce can be passed by the commerce deadline. They checked out within the second quarter, and I might be shocked if any of their big-name property are on the workforce in February.
And lastly, it regarded just like the NBA’s gamble that the gamers wouldn’t find a way to withstand caring concerning the In-Season Match paid off. For guys like Luke Kornet and Sam Hauser, that $500,000 prize actually means one thing, and so they performed prefer it. Jaylen Brown clearly understood what it meant to his teammates, and cranked up the warmth to environmentally irresponsible ranges to make sure the blowout win.
I didn’t must pay any additional for this, so I see this as nothing lower than an absolute win. I had a tremendous time Tuesday night time, and I hope you probably did, too. The Celtics will play the Indiana Pacers within the quarterfinals, so as soon as extra unto the breach of the IST! As soon as extra!
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