The Celtics become the 4th team in NBA history to force Game 7 after losing the first 3 games of a playoff series.

Jayson Tatum scores 25 of his 31 points in the 1st half as the Celtics improve to 5-0 in elimination games this postseason.

MIAMI (AP) — Maybe Kevin Garnett was right. Maybe, as he screamed in celebration of Boston’s 2008 NBA championship, anything truly is possible.

Even the impossible.

After beating Miami 104-103 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics are one win away from history, and that alone puts them in a very small club. Of the first 150 teams that trailed a best-of-seven series 3-0 in NBA history, just three found a way to extend the matchup to Game 7.

Teams to force Game 7 after trailing 3-0

1951 NBA Finals — New York trailed Rochester 3-0, lost in Game 7
1994 West Semis — Denver trailed Utah 3-0, lost in Game 7
2003 First Round — Portland trailed Dallas 3-0, lost in Game 7
2023 East Finals — Boston trailed Miami 3-0, Game 7 on Monday

The previous three teams to force Game 7 after trailing 3-0 lost in Game 7, but none of them had home-court advantage, which will be case for the Celtics on Monday night.

“One of our assistants put it in great perspective: The seasons are like nine months long, and we just had a bad week,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Sometimes you have a bad week at work. We obviously didn’t pick the best time to have a bad week, but we did, and we’re sticking together and fighting like hell to keep it alive.”