On this day in 1960, former Boston Celtics point guard John Bagley was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Bagley would play his college ball at Boston College before being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1982 NBA Draft, and would play with that franchise and the New Jersey Nets before being traded to the Celtics in 1989.
Bags would play for the Celtics for three seasons between 1989 and 1992, but missed the 1990-91 season entirely due to knee trouble and subsequent surgery.
He would average 5.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists in that stretch with the team. He would sign a deal with the Atlanta Hawks in November of 1993, his last stop in the league before retiring.
It is also the date of four playoff victories since the season of Boston’s last championship season, 2007-08.
The first was a 96-77 blowout of the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 2008 Eastern Conference Playoffs, led by Kevin Garnett’s 19 points and 10 rebounds. Ray Allen added 15 points and point guard Rajon Rondo 12 points and 8 assists.
“You knew what time it was, you knew what they were going to try to do. They were going to attack,” said Allen via ESPN. “And we had to attack right back.”
Boston took a 2-0 series lead with the win, and Garnett was presented with the 2008 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
The Celtics also crushed Derrick Rose’s Bulls 107-86 to take a 2-1 series lead with 24 points from Paul Pierce and 20 more from Rondo despite the Kentucky product spraining his ankle in Game 2.
“We know what kind of team we are,” Pierce offered via the Associated Press. “The way we played tonight is the way we want to play.”
On this day in 2010, Boston snuck by the Miami Heat 100-98 with a Pierce buzzer-beater to take a 3-0 series lead in the first round of the 2010 East Playoffs.
The Truth had 32 points and 8 boards overall, Allen added 25 points and 5 assists, and Rondo 17 points and 8 assists.
“Get out of the way and get Paul the ball,” said Rondo via the A.P. “Pretty simple. He made the play.”
Finally, behind a 33-point, 7-assist performance from point guard Isaiah Thomas playing while grieving the death of his sister Chyna, the Celtics evened the 2017 first round series with the Bulls 2-2 with a 104-95 victory.
Shooting guard Gerald Green added 18 points and 7 boards, and big man Al Horford added 15 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
“Mentally and emotionally, I’m not here so I just feed off what the guys give me,” Thomas explained via the A.P., still in shock from his sister’s death in a car accident earlier in the week. “They give me a lot of confidence. I can’t do it without those guys. They believe in me and being here is what makes me feel sane and somewhat normal through these tough times.”
