Kevin Garnett knows a little something about performing the clutch. The NBA Hall of Famer was the driving force behind the Celtics’ 2008 championship run, reminding the basketball-crazed masses that “anything is possible!!!”
Can the Celtics sustain their shooting?
That’s including an epic fourth quarter comeback against the Warriors.
The Celtics outscored Golden State 40-16 in the final period to take Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Prior to tip-off, Garnett picked the C’s.
His prediction only looked better afterwards.
“Shout to the Cs, man,” Garnett said in a video shared by Showtime. “Third quarter, they stayed in it. They took the big punches, you know what I’m saying? Stayed in it. Stayed together. [Jaylen] Brown got it going, and then the momentum, and the rest is history.”
Jaylen Brown sparked the Celtics’ fourth quarter run, hitting two early threes and a driving layup to bring them within three.
Boston took off from there. The Celtics established their fortitude and showed Golden State they won’t be morally defeated.
Just like Garnett predicted.
“This is where I think Boston comes in and establishes what it’s going to be for the series,” he said before the game.
That’s what Draymond Green, who dismissed Boston’s win, misses: the Celtics are resilient. They’ve played like this all postseason long, securing extraordinary performances from role players who compliment Jayson Tatum and Brown.
On Thursday, Al Horford, Marcus Smart and Derrick White combined to go 15-of-23 from beyond the arc.
In the words of another celebrating Celtics legend, Paul Pierce: “Let’s gooooooo!"