Boston sports teams are no strangers to facing down imposing deficits in postseason series.
The NBA’s Boston Celtics are currently down 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat.
With the Celtics facing elimination, Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown made some comments to channel a former Boston Red Sox fan favorite, saying that letting the Celtics win Game 4 would be a bad idea.
This is reminiscent of Kevin Millar, who when the Red Sox faced a 3-0 ALCS deficit against the New York Yankees in 2004 told his teammates and reporters, “don’t let us win tonight,” citing that Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling were waiting in the wings.
On Twitter, NBCS Celtics posted the comments and compared them to Millar’s comments before Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS.
“Don’t let us win tonight”
Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown channel their inner Kevin Millar ahead of tonight’s must-win Game 4 pic.twitter.com/du9Qykvw7X
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 23, 2023
Of course, after Millar made those comments, the Red Sox rallied to win Game 4 and survive another day.
Another late comeback in Game 5 helped them push the series back to Yankee Stadium.
It took a walk from Millar himself, a stolen base by Dave Roberts, and a base-hit by Bill Mueller to tie Game 4 before David Ortiz played the hero to force Game 5.
Ortiz put his heroics on display yet again in Game 5 and walked off the Yankees, setting up Schilling’s “bloody sock” performance.
Schilling went seven innings and allowed just one run to force Game 7.
And in Game 7, the Red Sox staked out an early lead and never looked back.
They would go on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.
And so, “don’t let us win tonight” became a rallying cry in Boston and ultimately built the momentum necessary for the Sox to break the curse.
Now, the Celtics will hope to match that success.
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