Red Sox Redux? Celtics Nearing Fever Pitch Reboot In Game 7 Vs. Cooling Heat In Boston

So, what actor and actress will storm the court after the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat in Game 7 Monday to win the NBA Eastern Conference Finals after trailing 3-0?

Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon did that in St. Louis' Busch Stadium on Oct. 27, 2004, for the movie "Fever Pitch," seconds after the Boston Red Sox swept the Cardinals in the World Series. Six days before that, Boston became the first Major League Baseball team in history to come all the way back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs and win a series. They beat the Yankees, 10-3, and won the American League title, four games to three. And no other MLB team has done that since.

"Fever Pitch" premiered just six months later.

Boston Can Make 0-3 History Again

So, if no one's planning a movie on the Boston Celtics' 2022-23 season, better start shooting quick. Tip-off of Game 7 is Monday (8:30 p.m., TNT) in the Garden in Boston.

No NBA team ever has come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs to win a series in any round. Boston is the 151st team to fall behind 0-3. Only three have reached a Game 7.

-The Portland Trail Blazers lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round in 2003.

-The Denver Nuggets fell to the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals in 1994.

-In 1951, the New York Knicks lost in the NBA Finals to the Rochester Royals.

The Celtics, though, get to play in Boston. The above three all lost on the road.

Boston Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon shakes hands with fans after scoring a run against the New York Yankees in a regular season game in 2004 at Fenway Park in Boston. (Photo by J Rogash/Getty Images)

"What the Celtics are doing right now is exciting for the entire sport of basketball," former Boston center fielder Johnny Damon told ESPN Sunday night. "And what a great story if would be for Boston to come back from a 3-0 deficit."

Boston Celtics Know Boston Red Sox History

Celtics' guard Marcus Smart was only 10 and living in Flower Mound, Texas, when the Red Sox came back to beat the Yankees in 2004 and went on to win their first World Series since 1918. That finally broke the "Curse of the Bambino," Babe Ruth. The Red Sox had stupidly sold Ruth to the Yankees in 1920, and he went on to become the home run king. Fans believed that transaction created the mother of all curses.

Smart, a Celtic since 2014, seemed well versed on Red Sox lore when he was 0-for-3 against Miami before Game 4 last week.

"Don't let us get one," Smart said.

"Kevin Millar?," a reporter asked in reference to a similar comment by the Boston Red Sox first baseman before Game 4 against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.

"There you go," Smart said. "Big time, baby."

Kevin Millar Quote Revisited 19 Years Later

Millar's actual quote was, "But let me tell you, don't let us win today."

Millar meant to say "tonight." Then he added, "We got PD (Pedro Martinez) tomorrow. And we got Schill (pitcher Curt Schilling, now of OutKick) in Game 6. In Game 7, it ain't happening. Don't let the Sox win this game."

Curtis Leskanic won Game 4 in relief of starting pitcher Derek Lowe. Tim Wakefield won Game 5 after Martinez started. Schilling won Game 6 as the most true Red Sox ever. His white socks were actually red with blood from a torn tendon sheath on his right ankle through three suture wraps. Lowe started and won Game 7.

Red Sox Reversed Curse

The four straight wins by the Red Sox served as sweet revenge for the previous season when the Yankees beat Boston In Game 7 of the ALCS on a walk-off home run by Aaron Boone as the Curse of the Bambino struck again. The Fox telecast even ended with an illustration of Ruth winking.

But beginning in 2004, the curse has reversed. The Red Sox have won four World Series titles since (2004, '07, '13 and '18). And the Yankees have won just won in 2009 after winning four over the previous nine seasons going into 2004.

Boston Celtics Can Repeat History

Boston won 116-99 on Tuesday in Miami, 110-97 on Thursday in Boston and 104-103 on Saturday in Miami.

Boston guard Derrick White (No. 9) tips it in as time expires Saturday to give Boston a 104-103 win and force a Game 7. That will be in Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday. (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)

Boston's Derrick White Came Out Of Nowhere

It was Smart who took the game-winning shot Saturday with 2.0 seconds remaining and Miami up 103-102. He missed it, but a kid out of nowhere - Derrick White, formerly of Division II University of Colorado-Colorado Springs - followed the shot and tipped it in at the buzzer for the win.

White was not bleeding, but he got Boston to Game 7.

"And then Derrick White, like a splash of lightning, just came out of nowhere," Boston guard Jaylen Brown said.

"You don't know who Derrick White is? You know who he is now," Smart said.

Celtics' Derrick White Pulls A Michael Jordan Finish

White became the first NBA player since Michael Jordan in 1989 to make a game-winning shot at the buzzer while trailing on a team facing elimination. Jordan hit a foul-line jumper to beat Cleveland 101-100 in a best-of-five opening round playoff series.

"There was really nobody on me," White said. "Ball came to me. I made a shot."

Boston Will Be Rocking

It was not quite, "Havlicek stole the ball" - the iconic radio call by Johnny Most in 1965 when Boston held on for a 110-109 win over Philadelphia in Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Division Finals. Boston forward John Havlicek made a steal with under five seconds to play for the win.

But this one was an instant classic, too.

"I've never been so excited to go back to Boston in my life," Boston forward Jayson Tatum said. "It's going to be fun."

Let's play two, Boston is saying.

Two Game 7s after trailing 0-3, that is.

"There's nothing quite like it," Damon said.