WOW! You may have heard myself and the other writers vent in the past about how blowout losses are the hardest recaps to write. But last night's game may prove just as tough. Why? Because the game was... well it was... WOW!
Welcome to Upset City. Population: You.
Last night wasn't the reason that I love the Warriors. It wasn't the reason that I love basketball. Last night's game was the reason that I love sports. I don't care if you've never seen a basketball game in your life; you had to appreciate what went down on the court between these two teams. In front of the biggest crowd ever to grace the Arena in franchise history, David (Or maybe in this case "Davis") stood up to Goliath and fought with every fiber to scratch out a victory in a blaze of glory that left the Celtics with .3 seconds (and the rest of eternity) to wonder what the hell just happened. So why would arguably the most incredible game of the year be challenging to write about?
Because I'm speechless. Simply speechless.
JUMP!
Let me be the first to admit, I didn't entirely believe. Coming back from Beatdown City (also known as Utah), I honestly believed that the Warriors wouldn't be able to fire up enough passion to put the mighty Green Giant away. Add to the mix the fact that Jax was sitting this out and the situation went from desperate to hopeless. Add to THAT mix the fact that MP2 was starting and the game went from hopeless to "What time does the next BART train leave?"
I've never been so happy to be wrong in my life. What happened on the Roaracle floor was a game for the ages. ESPN Classic is likely buying the rights to this bad boy as we speak.
The events of last night started out deceptively. Right from opening tip off, the Celts jumped out to an early lead that had me thinking that we were serving up one of our patented first-quarter-no-show-omelets. But the young'uns had a thing or two to say about that. The Dubs came back firing and Ellis and Beans put on an offensive show ending the first with 10 a piece and allowing the Dubs to walk away from the first up by 3 points.
And even then I didn't believe.
"So we had a good first.", I told myself. "We need to string together three more solid ones to put these guys down!"
And so the second quarter came and my post 1st quarter thoughts began to crystallize into reality. Ray Ray started with his patented hot hand, KG knocked a few back and the Warriors as a whole began to slow their roll. Alas, what could be done?! We are playing the best team in the NBA right now; should we expect anything different?!
We should. Last night's game further solidifies the theory that the Warriors are experts at playing to the level of their opponent. In the past, this theory has haunted us as we have diminished our abilities to dump easy W's against inferior teams. Last night, however, this uncanny ability worked in our favor. The second quarter would be the final (and only) quarter that we would lose to the Celtics this game.
"That's it boys. Pack it up. Baron for MVP. And I'm out."
For the rest of this incredible match-up, 20,711 fans were treated to point for point possessions, textbook defensive and offensive demonstrations, glimpses of the future, (Ellis with 12 points in the fourth finishing @ 29 points and 9 dimes, Beans with 21 and 13 boards), relics of the past (C-Webb with a great 3 swats and some decent work containing Garnett), moments of the present (TMNT with 22 and 12 boards going a perfect 6-6 from the line, Baron with 29, 6 dimes, 6 boards, 2 jacks) and most importantly...
The were treated to a miracle.
For 48 minutes their record was out of the window. For 48 minutes their All-Stars were mere basketball players. The Celts brought out their big guns, (Ray Ray with an incredible 6-8 from beyond and 32 points overall, KG with 17 and 15 boards, Paulie at 23, 5 and 5) and we were still able stay with them and hit the money shot at the right time.
By no means was this a commanding victory, but it sure as hell was the best win of the year. We're capable of anything. And if I ever find myself not believing that last statement again, well I'll always have this to remind me:
We just beat the best team in the NBA. And it feels GOOD.
Seriously? Am I going to have to post the same YouTube video three times in the same recap? Sure. Why not?! It was just that good.