More shots of miserable Pat Riley and Alonzo Mourning, please!
The Celtics dominated the Heat in the second half Wednesday, outscoring Miami 56-38 out of the break to take Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. After struggling to handle the ball all series long, Jaylen Brown stepped up, hitting several 3-pointers and delivering one rim-shattering dunk.
The force from Brown’s slam caused Riley and Mourning to sit stone-faced in their seats.
With 5:19 left in regulation, Brown drove the ball into the paint and accelerated through Miami’s defense before taking flight over Bam Adebayo for the one-handed dunk. The Celtics extended their lead to 89-71.
It was delicious to see Riley react so stoically, given his 30-year history of bad blood with the Celtics. Riley’s Showtime Lakers faced the Celtics in three NBA Finals from 1983-87, with Los Angeles taking two series. The Lakers’ cocky and Hollywood attitude disseminated directly from their coach.
Twenty years later, Riley became an executive with the Heat and promptly recruited LeBron James and Chris Bosh to South Beach, pairing them with Dwyane Wade and usurping the Celtics’ own Big Three.
Brown’s slam dunk wasn’t pay back for all of that, of course. But it’s still great to see Riley lose — even at his advanced age of 77. (Don’t feel too badly for him: he just sold his Four Seasons condo for a cool $23 million.)
Riley will have plenty of time to count his money when the Celtics oust the Heat. The only thing that would’ve made Wednesday’s moment sweeter is if Danny Ainge were in attendance to see his archnemesis receive some well-deserved comeuppance.