The unthinkable has happened before.
Conference semifinals, 2010, Boston vs. Philadelphia: Boston wins the first two games at home, then goes into Philadelphia to capture Game 3 and take a commanding 3-0 series lead.
Undeterred, Philadelphia won in seven games to reach the Eastern Conference finals.
One small detail to note: That was in hockey.
If there’s one piece of solace for the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors right now, it’s likely this – comebacks from 3-0 deficits are not completely unheard of in major sports. There’s been four of them in the NHL. Another happened in baseball, the Boston Red Sox rallying to oust the New York Yankees in the 2004 AL Championship Series. And even Cleveland has blown a 3-0 lead, albeit again in hockey, and that was of the minor league variety in 1960.
But in the NBA, never.
NBA teams staring into the 0-3 abyss have never been saved: 129 have tried, 129 have failed. On Monday, the 76ers and the Raptors – both down 3-0 after down-to-the-wire defeats in their respective Game 3s of their Eastern Conference semifinal series – get their chance to be the ones who rewrite that ignominious piece of basketball history.
Philadelphia plays host to Boston and Toronto is at Cleveland, with the 76ers and Raptors both trying to find ways to extend their seasons.
”There’s a breaking point we all have,” Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said. ”And I believe that if we can maintain our spirit, why couldn’t we be the one? And I mean that. That’s my goal with us, is to fight. That’s all I know. I can’t see any other way to approach this that makes sense to me. So that’s what we’re going to do.”
The odds are obviously overwhelmingly in favor of the Celtics and Cavaliers, who seem destined to meet in the Eastern Conference finals for the second consecutive year.
That’s hard to believe, given where those clubs were a week or so ago. Both needed to survive Game 7s just to get out of the first round.
The narrative around the Celtics, with no Kyrie Irving for the postseason, was that they would be the East high seed ripe for a playoff upset.
Oops. They’ve been unflappable.
”I’ve never been around a group of guys, and I’ve been around some really special ones, that can just turn the page and they just play the next play the right way,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. ”It’s a really unique group in that regard.”
The narrative around the Cavaliers was that LeBron James was being asked to do too much and his supporting cast was capable of too little.
Oops, again. And now James is five wins from an eighth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals.
”We’re getting better,” Cavs forward Jeff Green said. ”We’re getting better each game. Our defense is getting better. We’re playing together. Things are turning a corner for us at the right time.”
A look at Monday’s games:
CELTICS AT 76ERS
Celtics lead 3-0. Game 4, 6 p.m. EDT, TNT.
NEED TO KNOW: The Celtics are playing for a lot of rest. A win on Monday, and the Celtics wouldn’t play again until at least Sunday. And there’s nothing more valuable than days off to heal nagging things at this time of year.
KEEP AN EYE ON: Jayson Tatum. Boston’s young standout was brilliant in Game 3 with 24 points, and the Celtics were plus-24 when he was on the floor. In the 11 1/2 minutes he was on the bench, Philadelphia outscored Boston 39-18.
STAT QUIRK: Philadelphia set an NBA record with a 16-game winning streak to end the regular season. The 76ers topped the 15-game end-of-season run by the 1950 Rochester Royals – who exited the playoffs in a sweep.
PRESSURE IS ON: Ben Simmons. The 76ers point guard made some atrocious decisions in the final moments of Game 3, like going back up with an offensive rebound late in regulation (instead of burning some clock with Philly leading) and the lazy-looking one-handed inbounds pass for a turnover in overtime that sealed Boston’s win.
RAPTORS AT CAVALIERS
Cavaliers lead 3-0. Game 4, 8:30 p.m. EDT, TNT
NEED TO KNOW: Pity the Raptors. After coming into these playoffs with title hopes, Toronto has again been unable to solve LeBron James. In the last 15 matchups where the Raptors have faced James, they’re 1-14 and are now on the brink of being ousted by the Cavs for the third straight season.
KEEP ANY EYE ON: Kevin Love’s resurgence. Cleveland’s other All-Star has been revived in this series, a development that bodes well for the Cavs going forward. Love finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds in Game 3, responding to urging from Cavs coach Tyronn Lue to play faster.
PRESSURE IS ON: Raptors coach Dwane Casey. His moves have been questioned throughout the first three games. Toronto ran a mind-boggling inbounds play in the final minute of Game 3 with guard Fred VanVleet hoisting and missing a 35-foot jumper before the shot clock expired. Casey also benched All-Star DeMar DeRozan for the entire fourth quarter, a bold decision given that he’s the club’s best offensive player.
PRODUCT PLACEMENT: James’ choice to wear a Seagram’s 7 whiskey cap to his postgame news conference was interesting. Some suspected he might be trolling the Raptors since Seagram’s was originally a Canadian company. The logo also includes a small crown, so there’s the royal angle. Whatever the case, he may want to start getting Samuel Adams hats ready for the East finals – if he wants to tweak Boston fans a bit more.
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AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.
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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball
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