When the Celtics woke up Wednesday morning the focus was on revenge. Brad Stevens' team was getting its chance to get back at the Heat for that Eastern Conference Finals elimination a few months before.
By the time the final second ticked off the American Airlines Arena's scoreboard, the one showing a 107-105 win for the Celtics, worrying about Eastern Conference hierarchy seemed way down the priority list.
Take your pick.
There was the image of the 2021 Boston Sports Athlete of the Year Payton Pritchard provide the game-winner with under a second left.
There was the subsequent old Pritchard dancing video.
And along the way Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continued the narrative that these Celtics have one of the best one-two combinations in the league. Tatum scored 27 points and Brown netted 21, highlighting a group that encompassed 10 players totaling at least four points or more.
But the memory that will cement itself when it comes to what should have been an innocuous early January game involved before and after the actual game.
Prior to tip-off, the Celtics and Heat used their pregames to discuss the day's events, all of which was still unfolding in Washington D.C. There was the agreement to walk off the floor out of protest just prior to game-time.
Nobody knew what was going to happen in those moments before actual basketball, including Stevens, who called his wife to let her know he didn't think his team would be playing.
“I just told the guys in the locker room, the things you remember about coaching is probably not the game, right? It’s that locker room, 68 minutes before or whenever we all congregated,” Stevens said. “I think that’s what I’ll remember most fondly when I’m done are those moments. Just the sharing of real thoughts and emotions, and then to be able to compartmentalize and play a game.
“They did a good job of going out there and playing under the circumstances. I don’t know how they do it, I’ve said this forever in the NBA. When you’re at the end of these road trips or back-to-backs, I don’t know how they do it. These guys have an unbelievable ability to go out and play at an incredible level. It’s remarkable, both teams.”
And then there was the image of the two stars, side-by-side, after the win. It was a postgame message that led to a poignant point by Kendrick Perkins.
By the time the Celtics boarded their plane, they had a better idea of who they were and what they might be. And for a team that just played its ninth game, that's a pretty significant step.