It was all going so well! The Boston Celtics had built an 11 point lead against the Portland Trail Blazers and looked to be cruising to victory. The ball was moving, players cutting, and Boston’s defense looked to be a tough nut to crack. And then things changed.
With 7 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Celtics began to stagnate, and the offense became laborious. During those final 7 minutes, the Celtics attempted 10 field goals, 6 of them from deep, missing all of them. In fact, if it wasn’t for their 5-of-6 shooting at the line, Boston wouldn’t have registered a single point to close out the game.