Boston Celtics lost a 16-point lead in Game 4, but not their confidence

Despite being down 3-1 and facing elimination, the Boston Celtics are still a confident bunch entering Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

It was supposed to be an easy 4-game sweep. Despite being the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Boston Celtics were given no chance to compete against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers

Add a 44-point blowout in Game 2 to the mix, along with the loss of their leading scorer and the Celtics weren’t given even a tiny glimpse of a chance against a team comprised of stars.

So when Al Horford, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart and the Celtics stole Game 3, any chance of a Game 4 upset was unthinkable. Well, through the first half of Tuesday night’s game at Quicken Loan Arena, the Celtics actually looked like the No. 1 seed while the Cavaliers looked lost.

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Boston went on to blow a 16-point lead and lose 112-99, but to took a 44-point explosion by Kyrie Irving to get it done for Cleveland. The Celtics were also to blame as they went away from the things that put them up double digits on the same team that ran them off the court for 10 quarters of basketball.

The confidence remains

Turnovers and lack of ball movement handed Cleveland the game, but overall, the team is confident based on the level of competition they handed the Cavaliers the last two games.

"“We’re in a good place,” Horford said following the game, via CBS Boston. “Our backs are against the wall, but we feel like we’re playing better basketball. We’ll make some adjustments and get ready for Thursday.”"

With the home crowd behind them, the Celtics are hoping to push Cleveland to the limit and perhaps force a Game 6. If they do so, they will accomplish way more than they were expected to accomplish this season. Pushing the mighty Cavaliers without the same level of star power would be an absolute win.

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens knows in order to steal another win, his team has to play almost perfect basketball.

"“We know that we have a small margin, but we know that if we play the next play the right way, we have a chance to win that possession,” Steven said. “You just try to add those up to win the game. I think our guys did a lot well; I’ll go back and look at it and see what we need to get better at.”"

If Thursday night is to be the Celtics final game of the season, at least they get to go out in front of their home crowd. They will also get an opportunity to redeem themselves to their fans with a better game played than they showed in Game 2.

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