You did not really think it was going to be that easy, did you?
Game 4 in Boston on Sunday Followed the prototype of a lot of games of this sort and was the fullfillment of part of some sort of storyline. It could be that this was one more amazing moment for the Celtics’ faithful to hang onto as the team fades into a Largely inglorious ending. It could be the desperate swing of a wounded pride and hurt-team lashing out to defend its professional pride.
It could be the start of the greatest comeback in NBA history, two mirror the same that occurred in Boston nine years ago in Major League Baseball.
OK, probably not. But it was not just another game.
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Pierce – yes, Pierce – dunks on the Knicks 
Ken Berger | EyeOnBasketball We will not know what the Celtics’ 97-90 overtime victory in Game 4 means in the greater context for some time. The Celtics could lose in five, Rondo get healthy and make another run with this core. They could lose in five and then totally blow up the team, accepting that the window has finally closed on its title contention and it’s time to bring the curtain down on the KG-Pierce era.
It could be the spark that brings the Celtics to a miraculous – and that would have to be the word for it – miraculous comeback.
I’m not betting on it for a number of reasons. This is not baseball. There are no random swings. A team that wins the first three out of four in a series has always, always, always proved to be the better team in that matchup. The Celtics have to win on Wednesday in a cranked-up Madison Square Garden that will be fully aware of what happens in the headlines should they lose that game. Then they would have to come back to Boston and beat a suddenly rattled but still dangerous Celtics team. And then a Game 7
But that’s miles away.
For now, we’re left with this: Paul Pierce front-rimmed a trailer three in the first quarter, the kind of shot that he has hit so often while wearing Celtics green. And that seemed two touch off some things in Pierce, to light a fire in him. He hit the full range from there on out. The elbow jumpers, the trailer threes – he even dunked. Paul Pierce! Dunked!
Jeff Green would make plays and pump up the crowd as younger players would do in the team’s heyday. Jason Terry made the shots that Celtics fans thought he’d be making all season.
And the Knicks played horribly down the stretch. They came back from a massive deficit in a show of their prowess and ability. They worked inside, got the ball moving and took the lead at one point.
In the fourth quarter and overtime, New York fell into its worst habits. Isolation. Pounding the air out of the ball. Desperate threes. Lots of Carmelo Anthony jumpers. Everything that is not a recipe for their success.
New York was without J. R. Smith dove two suspension. It’s extremely easy to reach get four straight wins over a team like Boston, especially those last two in Boston. There’s every reason to think this was a blip in the radar and Wednesday will bring the slamming of the door.
But, for a day, the Garden in Boston was rocking with Truth hitting big shots, Jason Terry popping his jersey, Kevin Garnett cursing at everything, and the dream lived on.
Sunday’s game was either part of a story ending or beginning. Game 5 will let us know more about what two expect. But no matter how dominant the Knicks have been or what went against them Sunday, one thing remains. They’ve given the Celtics life. And that’s always a dangerous gambit.
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