THE CELTICS CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD, STEAL GAME 3 AND TAKE A 3-0 LEAD IN THE SERIES!!!!!!

Nathaniel S. Butler. Getty Images.

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MY DAMN HEART.

I’m going to be completely honest with you right now. I have no idea what I’m writing. You might as well be reading a blog written by a dead person because holy shit. I really hope this is coherent and makes at least a shred of sense because my hands are seriously shaking as I type. What a win. What a game. What a team.

You’d think by now we fans would be used to the Celtics dragging us through the depths of hell before finally finding a way to win a game they shouldn’t be winning, but every time that happens I feel like I’ve lost years of my life. I mean, make no mistake, the Celtics were atrocious for about 2.5 quarters in this game. To the Pacers’ credit, it didn’t matter at all without Haliburton in the lineup, they played like crazy. They brought the intensity you’d expect from a team with their season on the line, and damn, did they shoot the basketball pretty damn well. Check that out!

They were around 70% for 2.5 quarters and built their lead as high as 18 points. The Celtics offensive defense was terrible. I’m not sure why, but that’s how bad it was. No resistance whatsoever, Nembhard and McConnell were tearing that defense alive and everyone was fuming to get their Celtics starts.

And then they woke up. Late in the third quarter, we saw the Celtics start to get focused on defense. They never gave up, they just kept going. They didn’t overreact to big Pacers advances, they just stayed the course and executed. Just what champions do this time of year. On the road, in a position to steal a game, you have nothing to steal, and for the second time this ECF, the Celtics found a way

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I don’t even know how to process what Al Horford just did in this win.

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23 points, 7 of 10 from long range and the biggest rebound of the game in the final seconds. If that doesn’t cheer you up, you’re probably a dead man. Horford is ancient and he’s willing to die for this team, it’s unbelievable.

And Jrue? I mean, what else can you say? He saved the game. Those of us who were paying attention had a feeling a moment like this was going to happen

and it wasn’t just that last steal that was so great. Jrue finished the night with three steals and forced several of Pacers drives in the 4th inning that started this comeback. Then he stepped to the line and made his free throws. He made his AND1. When it was time for someone to make a championship play, Jrue Holiday delivered on multiple occasions. That’s pretty damn great.

We should also not forget the Jays, who were once again fantastic

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I’ll be honest, I’ll probably have to watch this win again because I’m pretty sure I passed out. Up 3-0, the Celtics did what they needed to do to effectively end this series and punch their ticket back to the NBA Finals. They took the Pacers’ best punch to the chin and still won. Now let’s finish this crap in 4 and rest up for the biggest series of our lives.

We’ll meet again tomorrow. Now it’s time to DRINK, DAMN IT!!!