Recounting My Favorite Boston Celtics Finish of All-Time

(Photo courtesy of DGA Productions)

By: Greg Payne

For some reason I woke up this morning thinking back to that Ray Allen buzzer beater against the Charlotte Bobcats on November 24, 2007. For the record, that currently stands as my all-time favorite basketball finish.

First of all, we, the eventual NBA Champions, found ourselves with our backs against the wall to one of the worst teams in basketball with 4.7 seconds (I'll always remember there being 4.3 left, but the record says 4.7, so I'll let it go) left. We were down two whole points and we didn't even have the basketball.

Now, another one of the reasons it was so memorable for me was because of the situation I found myself in. My two best friends, Mike and Dave, are twin brothers, and a bunch of us and their parents' friends (that might sound lame, but their parents' friends are some of the coolest older people I've ever met. The type of older people you actually don't mind partying with and sometimes even look forward to) were over their house, celebrating.

We started around 6:00 or so, which was perfect for me, because it gave me ample time to make my rounds, introduce myself to those I hadn't met before and reacquaint myself with those I knew quite well, before tipoff.

There was Johnny, one of the guys we had played tackle football with at the beach the previous summer. Mike, Dave and myself against three 40+ guys. I think deep down we all knew it wouldn't end well in some way, but that wasn't going to stop us. Great game. We got owned. But in the process I managed to cause Johnny some very severe chest pains that actually made him leave early. I juked as he was trying to tackle me and I think his left side went one way and his right side went the other. When I saw him in November I believe he attributed it to a strained bicep? I think that was it.

Then there was Pollock, a great guy who's just fun to have around in basically any situation. Then there was Chris, another diehard Celtics fan like myself. As I was making my rounds, I could see Chris doing the same. We locked eyes at one point and gave each other that "Game time soon" stare. There was a distinct sense of understanding between us and when 7:00 rolled around, we both parked ourselves in front of the television in the living room. The formula was simple: Socialize during time-outs and in between quarters. Full proof plan.

Now, I had real clothes on, like jeans and a nice shirt, because some of the younger older women (women I actually might have had some sort of shot with. I like to think so at least...) were very attractive. BUT, every season, I have my game day clothes. (You've got to get in the zone, come on. I'm superstitious. Sue me.) This most recent season, for example, my attire was composed of the black Celtics retro shorts with the green waistband, and the green Paul Pierce jersey T-Shirt.

That year, since winter was on the way, I had the white and green warm up pants, with the shorts underneath, a specific green Celtics t-shirt and a black and green Celtics sweatshirt. Now, since I wasn't wearing my typical game day outfit, I made myself a promise: If we were not winning at halftime, I would run home and change (I live less than a mile down the street) and then return.

As it turned out, we were down five points at halftime, so I sprinted out of that house, floored it into first gear and hauled my butt home. I busted into the house, didn't even close the door, ripped off my clothes, threw on the game day gear (we were 10-1 at that point of the season with the outfit. It was working! We would have been 11-0 if Paul Pierce had drove to the hoop against Orlando back on November 18, instead of pulling up for that three-pointer. Don't judge me!), sprinted back out the door (closed it this time) and sped back to the party. Thankfully it wasn't snowing. I still wonder if my parents ever heard me rush in like that...

I get some strange looks when I return, but I could care less at this point because we were down five points to the Charlotte Bobcats! This shouldn't be happening. As it turns out, it was just one of those games. It was clear entering the fourth quarter we weren't going to pull away and the Bobcats wouldn't be going away. It was going to be a fight to the finish.

Jason Richardson torched us with 25 points, and by the tail end of the fourth quarter, everyone left at the party had filed into the living room to watch the finish with Chris and I. Sure enough, when that ball went out of bounds with 4.7 seconds left and us down 95-93, I remember someone in the room behind me saying, "Well that's it. They're not recovering from this one."

I yelled back, "NO! It's not over! All we need to do is foul whoever touches the ball as soon as they get it. There'll still be about four seconds left and we just need whoever's shooting to miss one of the free throws. This can still work!"

There was no way I could foresee what unfolded next. No one could have.

Then, Mike Gorman's call came. A call I've re-enacted for some of my college buddies on multiple occasions. It was one of his greatest, if not his greatest, calls of all time. Jason Richardson was inbounding...

"PASS DEFLECTED BY EDDIE HOUSE! PICKED OFF BY PIERCE! RAY ALLEN FOR THE GAME...GOT IT! AT THE BUZZER! OHHHHHH!"

As that shot fell, this was me, in front of a room full of people you wouldn't want to make a fool of yourself in front of:

"YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!! YEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!"

I was on my feet, dropped to my knees and started rolling on the floor, kicking my legs in the air like a bloody fool. I was legitimately having a celebration-seizure. I had never lost it that bad before. We had NO business winning this game. We should not have won. Plain and simple. Even Chris was having his doubts at that point. But I kept the faith, and I was rewarded. I knew we couldn't lose to the Charlotte Bobcats. They're the Charlotte Bobcats.

Then, Johnny said something I'll never forget: "You deserve that, Greg. You never gave up."

I'll never forget that night. Great game. Great party. Great people. Great season.

Stay Tuned.