Celtic comeback one for the ages

When I left to go play basketball Saturday afternoon with three friends, I thought there would be little to no sports that I would miss during that time.

After all, the only thing on was a NBA playoff game that was a blowout going into the fourth. I guess I forgot about the Celtic mystique.

During my hour and a half of playing basketball, I missed the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history as the Boston Celtics overcame a 26-point deficit to beat the New Jersey Nets, 94-90.

That was after the Nets took a 74-53 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Now its obvious that the Nets, Eastern Conference MVP Jason Kidd and the rest of the state of New Jersey own much of the blame for blowing such a huge lead.

They will forever be married to other choke artists such as the Houston Oilers of 1993 and the Phoenix Suns of 1994-95.

To blow a lead that big that late is simply inexcusable. Period.

But it just adds to the lore of the legend of the Boston Celtics. It wasn’t the Boston Garden, but the Fleet Center held up the legend. Maybe that parquŽ#233; floor, the same used at the Garden, does have magic on it.

It was the legends of Celtic past that made this victory possible. How else do you explain Paul Pierce going eight for 44 in Games 1-3 and then scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter alone?

Those 19 points outscored the Nets as a team in the fourth, which put up a measly 16 points and yielded 41.

How else do you explain how a team that could do no wrong during the first three quarters of the game went into the tank and used backup center Aaron Williams as the “go-to-guy”?

The tangible explanations should be shown first. For one, Jason Kidd is an incredible player, but his greatest flaw is helping his team maintain a lead. He hasn’t shown that capability before, and this loss only adds to that claim.

Then there was the incredible play of Pierce, who shook 18 percent shooting to come back with 19 points in the fourth. Not to mention Antoine Walker, who added 23 in the game.

These oddities cannot be fully explained by logic. Outside forces are attributable here as well.

Red Auerebach for one. The legend of old Beantown faithfuls such as Larry Bird and Kevin McHale for another. And let’s not forget the luck of the Irish from coach Jim O’Brien.

Kidd said the game was “a golden opportunity we let slip away.” Fortunately, the Nets were able to tie the series 2-2 two days later at Boston with a 98-96 win.

I missed the game because I went out and played basketball myself, but one thing is for sure: I’ll be hearing about Celts-Nets Game 3 for a while.