This Date in NBA Finals History: Boston Celtics Comeback from 24 Points Down in Game 4 in 2008

Photo credit: John W. McDonough, Sports Illustrated.

17 years ago, the Boston Celtics won their 17th championship with a 131-92 demolition of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals. Happening on their home floor, the result was a coronation for Celtics’ superstars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce (Finals MVP), and Ray Allen and the expected season-ending result of the trio. When Allen was acquired on draft night 2007 and Garnett was acquired at the end of July, nothing less than a championship was the ceiling. 

In the 2008 Finals, the Celtics, winners of 66 regular season games with the NBA’s top defense (Garnett was Defensive Player of the Year), met Kobe Bryant and the 57-win Lakers. 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists on 46% shooting allowed Bryant to win his first and only MVP trophy. The Lakers swept the Denver Nuggets in four games in round one, defeated the Utah Jazz in six games in round two, and beat the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the Western Conference Finals. 

The Celtics endured a tough first round test at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks, a grueling six games before a 99-65 home cooking humiliation of the Hawks at TD Garden in Game 7. LeBron James led the Cavaliers and took the Celtics to seven games in the second round. In that seventh game, James and Pierce dueled at the Garden - James poured in 45, Pierce scored 41. The Celtics prevailed 97-92. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics defeated the Detroit Pistons in six games. Garnett scored 33 points with 7 rebounds in Game 5. In the 89-81 Game 6, Pierce scored 27. 

The first two games of the Finals - a rivalry resurrected from 20+ years prior - played out as you would expect as the home team won both - 98-88 Celtics in Game 1, 108-102 Celtics in Game 2. In Game 1, Garnett put up 24 points and 13 rebounds, Pierce 22 points, and Allen 19. Bryant was held to just 9-of-26 shooting for 24 points.

Bryant scored 30 points in Game 2 on an improved 11-of-23 from the field. Pierce put up 28. Allen 17 on 6-of-10. Garnett 17 points and 14 rebounds. 

The Lakers won Game 3 by an 87-81 score, Bryant made 12-of-20 from the field and 11-of-18 from the line for 36 points. Sasha Vujacic scored 20 off the bench. Allen made 8-of-13 shots and 5-of-7 triples for 25 points. Garnett put up a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds, but he and Pierce (6 points) combined to go a paltry 8-of-35.

Game 4 in Los Angeles. The Lakers raced to a 35-14 lead after the first quarter. The Lakers were balling. The Celtics were crawling. 

With 6:46 remaining in the second quarter, Bryant drove to the middle and found Vujacic in the right corner for three. 45-21 Lakers. Garnett at the other end hit his patented turn around jump shot, over Lamar Odom. Rajon Rondo to a trailing Allen in transition on the right wing for three. 45-26. 4:15 remaining in the second quarter. 

James Posey, an expert “3 and D” player who fit seamlessly into the Celtics’ 2008 plans, made free-throws with 3:50 on the clock in the second. 45-28. KG out of the post found a baseline-cutting Rondo. Rondo to Posey in the corner. Splash. 45-31. Pierce from 17 feet over Vladimir Radmanovic. Good. 45-33. 2:59 on the clock. 

Derek Fisher drove off of a pass from Odom and scored high off the glass plus the foul. 48-33. Odom to Pau Gasol inside for a dunk over Allen. 50-33. 

Posey nailed a triple from the top off a feed from Pierce. 50-37 with 1:38 to go in the half. Pierce free-throws with 52.2 on the clock made the deficit 13, 52-39 Lakers. The Laker lead at the half was 58-40. 

KG from inside the 3-point line early in the third. Good. 58-44. Bryant dribbles toward the baseline and hits a tough jump shot over Pierce. 60-44 one minute into the third. 

Garnett gets an entry pass from Pierce on the left block, faces up on Gasol and drives baseline with a power dribble and one low dribble. Turns toward the basket and shoots with his right hand off the glass. 60-48. 9:55 remaining in the third. 

Bryant to Gasol for an alley oop on a broken play. 72-57 Lakers. 4:32 on the clock.  

A steal from Allen and a transition layup as he races to the other end. An 11-point deficit now at 72-61 with three minutes remaining in the third. Timeout Lakers. 

Pierce, on the left elbow extended about 18 feet out, drives left on Trevor Ariza with one dribble. Bryant and Gasol leap to contest, arms in the air. Pierce hangs, gets hit, and converts the reverse with the ball rolling in off the rim as he falls to the floor on the other side of the basket. Great touch. A fist pump from Garnett. The power forward and Eddie House help Pierce to his feet. 73-63. 2:01 remaining in the third. Pierce’s free-throw is good. 73-64. 

Pierce drives, swings to Garnett up top. Garnett swings to an open House in the corner. House, a veteran sniper, added lights out shooting and punch to this team. The triple goes in. KG points at House in an acknowledgment of his key three-ball. 1:24 on the clock in the third. The deficit is now six, 73-67. An exuberant House screams as he back pedals back down court. At this moment, you can feel the momentum really turn. A two-possession game. The Celtics had dominated the third quarter in games one through three (85-58), and at the time of House’s trifecta were outscoring the Lakers 27-15 in the third on this night. 

Allen makes two free-throws. 73-69. 41.2 seconds to go in the third. With the third quarter winding inside five seconds, Pierce is positioned outside the right block. Jordan Farmar defends. Gasol shadows. 

Pierce turns and whips a pass to PJ Brown underneath. Brown, 39 years old and a key veteran pickup on this team - he and Sam Cassell provided veteran leadership and clutch play at different points in the season - turns and dunks the ball as Bryant jumps for a block attempt. 73-71 going into the fourth. Glen “Big Baby” Davis hugs Brown as he makes his way to the bench at the end of the quarter. A 21-3 run to end the third for the Cs, 31-15 overall in the third. Advantage road team heading into the fourth.

With 10:13 remaining, Leon Powe, posting Odom, turns inside and releases a jump hook that banks off the glass. Tie game. Powe had come up major in the Celtics’ Game 2 win, 6-of-7 from the field for 21 points. In Game 4, his lone field-goal could not have been any bigger. 

Bryant drives inside, a scoop layup good. 75-73 with 9:31 remaining. With 7:58 on the clock, Bryant elevates and knocks down a jump shot, from roughly 17 feet, over Pierce. 77-75 Lakers. Just 6-of-19 in the game, Bryant’s consecutive field-goals at this time calmed things a bit for the Lakers.

Garnett hits a turn-around one-handed jump shot over Ronny Turiaf. 77-77 with 7:13 on the clock.  

With the Lakers up 79-77, Bryant drives to the basket, getting past Posey with a left-hand dribble. Bryant finishes with a two-handed dunk. 5:48 remaining and the score 81-77 Lakers. This is classic Kobe. This is why you feared him, as a team and as a fan. No matter how poor the shooting, how off the night - in crunch time, he showed up. Momentum on the other side and he makes major plays to quell it. As the superstars do. 

Allen pump-fakes at the 3-point line from near straight away and drives into the paint where he is met by Gasol. Posey is open in the corner. Allen finds him. Splash. 81-80 Lakers with 5:26 remaining.  

Two free-throws from Garnett with 4:45 on the clock make the deficit one at 83-82. 

Pierce, dribbling up top, sees Farmar first and then Bryant approaches. House rolls to the open spot inside the 3-point line in the right corner. Pierce finds him. Farmar contests, House’s shot rolls in. Clutch plays from the reserve guard who finished with 11 points in the game. 84-83 Celtics with 4:06 on the clock. 

Pierce rifles a pass to Allen in the left corner. Allen drives and elevates, as does Gasol to reach for the shot and challenge. Not unlike Pierce’s up and under from earlier, Allen goes to the other side for a reverse. The ball kisses the rim and falls through the same way as Allen falls to the floor. 86-83 Celtics. 3:14 remaining. 

With 2:17 on the clock, Garnett gets the ball near the right baseline. He fakes right and takes two dribbles left on Gasol into the paint. A jump stop from KG precedes a rise and a release with one hand for a short jumper. Good. 88-83 with 2:10 remaining. Timeout Lakers. Garnett jogs to the bench with his head down, focused. His breath is paced. A slap five from Rivers. Assistant Tom Thibodeau slaps KG on the back. Good work. They are feeling it now.

89-85 Celtics with 1:35 remaining and Bryant crosses over on Pierce, spins back to his left and drives. A one-handed layup over a contesting Garnett hits the back of the rim before bouncing in. 89-87 Celtics. 1:30 to go. 

Posey gives the ball to Allen up top. Allen, guarded by Vujacic, dribbles right and goes behind his back and is bumped by Radmanovic as he, now a couple feet behind the free-throw line, makes his way across the floor. Posey is open in the corner. Allen finds him. 

Bottom. 92-87 Celtics with 1:13 remaining. Allen, Garnett, and House fist pump in unison. 

Bryant drives on Pierce, getting into the lane, and finds Fisher for a corner jump shot. 92-89 with 1:04 remaining. 

Pierce crosses over on Bryant at the top and is bumped with 46.8 remaining. Pierce hits both freebies. 94-89. 

Bryant drives left on Pierce and delivers a clever dish around the back of Garnett to Gasol for a dunk. 94-91 as the clock reads 40.1 seconds.

With 22 seconds remaining and the clock winding, Allen has the ball near mid-court. Three right-handed dribbles against Vujacic and another dribble with burst as Allen makes his way past Vujacic. Gasol comes over from the right to challenge. Allen sees it, leaps and lays the ball up with his left hand off the glass. 96-91. House has his right arm in the air, jumping in jubilation. Pierce is facing the crowd, arms up in triumph as he makes his way back down the floor. 

Staples is stunned.

Vujacic hits the back of the rim at the buzzer. 97-91 is the final. Comeback completed. House, facing the baseline, jumps. He turns to the sideline and pushes the front of his jersey out so fans can clearly see the “CELTICS” across the chest. Screaming. Has a bounce to him. Brown and Davis embrace Pierce. 

Pierce’s 20 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds on 7-of-13 led the Celtics in the game. Allen scored 19 with 9 rebounds on 6-of-11. Garnett 7-of-14 for 16 points and 11 rebounds. Posey led the bench with 18 points. Four triples that were all impactful.  

The Celtics shot 45.2% and held the Lakers to 41.6%. Bryant was 6-of-19 for 17 points but did dish out 10 assists. Odom posted 19 points and 10 rebounds on 8-of-11. Gasol also registered a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Fisher scored 13, Radmanovic 10. 

Leading 2-1 in the series heading into Game 4, it looked early on that the Celtics were going to get crushed by the Lakers. The series would be 2-2 with the Lakers also hosting the fifth game. The momentum would be theirs. 

But the Cs plans were to get two in LA, not one. All the cliches epitomized this group in 2008 - gritty, tough, scrappy. These Celtics had heart. Had a never quit attitude. Even when down, they stayed mentally in it. Had the talent and the juice to physically keep themselves close. Their seven game first round series against an inferior Hawk squad taught them. Their seven game series against the Cavaliers tested their mettle. Their six-game Conference Finals triumph over the Pistons ended the Billups-Hamilton-Prince-Wallace quartet, a veteran team with chemistry defeated by a veteran team that had more chemistry and more talent. Game 4 of the Finals tested the Celtics’ manhood. Down big on the road. Do you get discouraged or stay positive? Do you doubt or have confidence? Panic or poise? Give up or grit? 

The 2008 Celtics chose the latter in all cases. Despite a 103-98 loss in Game 5, their Game 4 victory was the catalyst for their dominating Game 6. 

The quest for Banner No. 17 was set in motion with the acquisitions of Allen and Garnett. Training camp in Rome produced a Double 0-7 bond. 66 wins provided the comfort of home court and the league’s top defense provided a solace in knowing that they would always be in games. 

But the 2008 NBA Championship for the Boston Celtics was won on June 12, 2008. 

It remains the largest comeback in a game in NBA Finals history.