It took seven years, but in 2002 the duo of Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker brought the Boston faithful back to the NBA playoffs and into the history books.
Two years before “Believe in Boston” and the 2004 Red Sox became famous, Celtics fans were given a reason to believe.
The series was 1-1 as the New Jersey Nets entered the FleetCenter against Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics first appearance in 14 years.
The C’s looked sluggish through the first three quarters and the FleetCenter was utterly silent. It was a disappointing return to Boston after the Celtics had taken Game 2 of the ECF in New Jersey 93-86.
Boston looked flat and sporadic as they proceeded to turn the ball over and fall short on defensive rotations. Paul Pierce had struggled throughout the game, registering only one point in the first quarter and a total of nine through the first three quarters. As the fourth quarter started, the Celtics trailed 74-53 and veterans Pierce and Antoine Walker began what became the most historic comeback in NBA playoff history.
The FleetCenter was silent as the quarter began but little by little, they began to get behind their team. The duo of Pierce and Walker combined for 11-straight points over the first two minutes and 44 seconds to bring the deficit down to 74-62, forcing the Nets to call a timeout as the arena erupted. Coming out of the timeout the FleetCenter was rocking and NBC immediately went down to an interview with commissioner David Stern.
In a barely audible voice Stern proclaimed, “Basketball is back in Boston,” as the Boston faithful rose to their feet in response to such an effort from their team.
Kenny Anderson dropped in five-straight baskets as the Celtics continued their firestorm to bring the deficit to 10 points with just over five minutes to go.
Boston trailed by as many as 26 in the game, but with just over a minute to go it was a one-point game. The Celtics continued their strong defensive effort in the fourth quarter as Rodney Rogers drew a charge. On the very next possession, Pierce was fouled and connected on both of his free throws to take a one-point lead.
With 29 seconds left in the fourth and the Celtics up by two, Anderson forced the sixth turnover of the quarter and connected on a fastbreak bucket.
It was all over from there.
As the clock struck zero, Walker laid on the floor and Pierce leaped onto the announcers table. No one had ever witnessed such an improbable comeback. Pierce was 2-14 entering the fourth quarter, but scored 19 of Boston’s 41 points for that quarter.
In 171 tries no NBA team had ever come back from a 19-point deficit.
The Celtics took the 2-1 series lead, but would eventually lose in six games to the Nets. Boston wouldn’t return to the ECF until 2008, when they would claim banner No. 17 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Despite the loss, Boston had their leader. Pierce averaged 7.9 points per game in the fourth quarter that season, coincidentally behind only the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, as he cemented himself as the ultimate closer.
