The Boston Celtics technically still have a chance, albeit a longshot. After a 128-102 loss to the eighth-seeded Miami Heat in Game 3, the C’s now sit one game away from postseason elimination. No team in NBA history has ever prevailed in a playoff series after dropping the first three games. 

Boston was no stranger to ridicule on Sunday night following their lifeless performance. Fans and pundits alike ripped into the sinking Celtics, condemning them for their uninspiring level of effort and lack of defensive identity. Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson joined in on the derision, accusing his once-vaunted rivals of quitting. 

“In my 44 years of being associated with the NBA I never thought I’d see a Boston Celtics team, a franchise with 17 Championships, quit,” Johnson wrote on Twitter. “I know Celtics fans all over the world must be disgusted and devastated. The Miami Heat blew them out 128-102 in Game 3.”

The Celtics clearly entered halftime dejected, trailing Miami by 15 points after 24 minutes of play. Any hopes of them emerging from the locker room primed to claw their way back quickly faded in the third quarter, where the Heat outscored Boston 32-17.