The Celtics Thrilling OT Win Over The Warriors Just Took Years Off My Life

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

I am EXHAUSTED.

Holy shit what a 3 hours we all just lived through. Not only did we experience every emotion humanly possible, but I am also quite certain that I crossed off no fewer than 3 years of my life after watching that 53 minutes of basketball. Was it worth it? Absolutely. The pain and joy that the Celts can bring you on any given night over 48+ minutes is why they are so addicting. There's really nothing like them in the league. In the same game, shit in the same quarter they look liek world beaters and people who have never touched a basketball before in their life. When you think they're dead, they're actually alive. When you think you can exhale, they do some shit like throw the fucking ball around in the final 30 seconds when literally all you have to do it hold onto it. There is truly nothing like the experience of watching this team play.

For stretches of this game, it looked like a repeat of the Finals. The Jays were nowhere to be found, the Celts were turning the ball over, Steph was doing crazy fucking shit like this

and at that point there is not a Celtics fan alive that wasn't absolutely terrified. This man is the devil. There is no other explanation for it. 

In the second half it was more of the same. Couldn't make a layup to save their lives, missing open looks, the Celts were in this funk that really only the Warriors bring out in them. Part of it is for sure mental, but part of it is also how the Warriors defend this team as a whole. They're great at playing passing lanes, Looney and Draymond contest at the rim without fouling (or it getting called), and the Celts go brain dead. It's very weird and was absolutely worrisome as the game went on.

But this time, the Celts snapped out of it.

Jayson Tatum answered the bell

in what was a very weird game for him. He shot terribly, I mean really really poorly, he had some of the worst 4th quarter turnovers you will ever see, but he was a monster. A starter best +7 in his minutes while making huge shots down the stretch. He was both killing the team and carrying the team at the same time. Like I said, this was a bizarre game that was insane to live through.

Add in massive contributions from Al, Jaylen waking up in OT, Smart and Brogdon making plays, the team as a unit came together and executed when they needed to in the biggest moments against a team they have been pooping their pants against in recent memory. That's big.

The fact that the Celts were down 6 late and found a way to rally is the type of resiliency they seemed to be lacking against GS. It was almost like once they came back it reminded their brains that they don't have to be afraid of GS. That's where the importance always was for me in this game. The Celts needed to prove to themselves that they CAN beat GS. To do it on a night where you shot like shit, made a ton of boneheaded mistakes and even survived Curry black magic is such a goddamn relief.

We'll talk more about this in detail in the morning. I think we all need a minute to decompress after those 3 hours.

8 in a row. 34-12. Love and Trust.