Resilience: The capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
Among the traits that accompany a championship team—grit, determination, discipline, mental toughness, and, of course, a little bit of luck—resilience is the most defining trait.
Some would argue Game 3 was only the second time this postseason that the Celtics had been truly “tested.” Yet, it was their resilience that enabled them to overcome these challenges, leaving no doubt about their championship mettle.
Facing an 0-2 series deficit and desperate to defend their home court, where they hadn’t lost since March 18, the Pacers were determined to challenge the Celtics in Game 3. Despite missing their star player, Tyrese Haliburton, due to a hamstring injury, the Pacers’ desperation made them a formidable opponent.
The Celtics knew all too well that when a team loses its star player, especially at this point in the season, it doesn’t roll over and give up. Instead, it becomes even more desperate, turning up its effort levels.
“I think the first thing to a let up is everyone has an expectation that it’s supposed to go a certain way because the other team is missing one of their best players. That’s just not how it works,” Joe Mazzulla said pregame. “It’s a playoff game, at home, they’re down 2-0. It doesn’t matter if Mathurin or Haliburton was playing. You’re still going to get one of the best versions of Indiana tonight. That’s out of the question.”
Behind 21 points from Andrew Nembard, 15 apiece from Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam, and another 12 from T.J. McConnell, the Celtics certainly did see one of the best versions of Indiana. The Pacers built an 18-point lead in the first half, shooting a blistering 63.6% and putting up 69 points.
“I think Indiana played well,” Jaylen Brown said. “They were just flying around. And then they were shooting the ball well. Some of those guys turned into f— Michael Jordan or whatever. And we were like, ‘Man, what is going on?’ We couldn’t figure it out.”
Despite Indiana’s impressive offensive performance, the Celtics stayed composed. They kept pushing forward, gradually narrowing the gap until a simple message from Mazzulla during the third quarter sparked a turnaround.
“I think, it was one of those timeouts in the third quarter, Joe just kind of told us [to] stop feeling sorry for ourselves. And whatever situation we’re in, that’s the situation that we’re in. And it’s on us to figure it out,” Jayson Tatum said on what allowed the Celtics to turn the game around.
“We kind of felt lucky that we were playing as bad, per se, as we were and how well they were shooting the ball, and we were only down 13, 14 points on the road, and we still had a lot of time left to win the game. So, it was one of those timeouts, maybe with like five minutes left in the third, when we kind of turned it around.”
Presumably, that message came during the first media timeout of the third quarter, after Nembard blew by Derrick White for an easy finger-roll layup.
Something flipped for the Celtics during that break, as they returned to the floor and held the Pacers to just 27 points on 30.6% shooting over the final 18 minutes, giving them a chance to win the game.
“I was like, ‘Fellas, look at the score. Dallas was down 18 [Friday] night. This has to be normal,” Mazzulla said. “We have to know that we are going to be losing in the playoffs at some point, that we have to play through it.’ And the only way you play through it is by being in it, so I thought the guys did a great job staying present in that.”
Twice, the Celtics trailed by 18 points. Indiana built an 18-point lead midway through the second quarter and matched that margin again midway through the third. Yet, Boston stayed with it.
By the 3:05 mark, the lead was down to just eight before the Celtics delivered the knockout blow with a 13-2 run to improve to 3-0 in clutch games this postseason. In those minutes, the Celtics have outscored opponents 43-31, with 10 of their 12 makes assisted. They posted a 134.4 offensive rating and 96.9 defensive rating. Furthermore, the Celtics are a perfect 13-of-13 at the free-throw line.
Defensively, they have forced six turnovers while holding opponents to 10-of-24 (41.7%) shooting.
“Down the stretch, I thought we executed defensively and offensively,” Mazzulla said. “We made the right play at the rim, extra pass, good screening. I thought it was a high level of execution on both ends of the floor, especially in the fourth quarter. But the thing I liked the most was just, we talk about it all the time, it takes what it takes. Every game is going to be different, and I felt like, in the first half, it kind of caught us by surprise that we were down by that much. But I was like, I kind of told them, like, ‘Fellas, it’s going to happen. It might not be the last time we’re down by double digits.’ So, I liked the way we handled that, and it was just a test of mindset and toughness, and I thought the guys came through big-time.”
It was a total team effort down the stretch. From Jrue Holiday’s go-ahead and-one bucket and game-sealing steal to Jayson Tatum’s unselfish behind-the-back assist leading to an Al Horford three and timely buckets from Jaylen Brown, everyone contributed to getting across the finish line.
“It was definitely a team effort,” Holiday said postgame. “I think, from being down 18, we knew that we could lock in defensively and be better, and it showed. But it was definitely a team effort.”
Sure, the talent is obvious. But more importantly, these Celtics possess the intangibles needed to win a title—grit, focus, mental toughness, determination, discipline, and, most importantly, resilience. This resilience stems from seasoned veterans and lessons learned from past experiences, which are a true testament to the group.
“These past few years, we had some battles. We’ve been through it. We understand that we’ve had some grueling, tough series, and this one’s no different,” Horford said. “There is a reason why they’re here. I know we’re up 3-0, but it could’ve easily been very different. That’s just how good of a team they are. For us, we’ve been fortunate – definitely, our experience has helped us in these moments.”
The Celtics have learned from their mistakes. Letting their guard down and playing down to their opponent when a star player is out is a thing of the past. Likewise, the narrative of their below-average performance in clutch situations no longer applies.
All year long, the Celtics have preached that things are #DifferentHere. That is not just a cheesy slogan. It’s a fact—and one that should have fans feeling pretty good with the Celtics on the cusp of a return to the NBA Finals.
“The way that we’ve been playing throughout this postseason, I can’t give enough credit to the coaches and my teammates. We’ve been up for every challenge. It’s looked different every single night, but we’ve answered the call,” Tatum said postgame.
“We’re in a great position right now. Obviously, one win away from the Finals. But we know for one second we can’t relax. A year ago, we were down 0-3, and we figured out a way to force it to seven. So, we are not looking past Monday or anything like that. We’re just taking it one game at a time, and knowing we have a special opportunity to go back to the Finals.”
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