MIAMI — Nearly 19 years have passed since Johnny Damon helped create history as a member of the 2004 Red Sox. Now, he’s fully invested as another Boston team tries to make the same history of its own.
Damon, of course, was the center fielder for those ‘04 Sox, who became the first team in MLB history to overcome an 0-3 playoff series deficit as they won four consecutive games over the rival Yankees and then went on to win the World Series. Naturally, Damon has been wrapped up watching the Celtics, who are on the cusp of becoming the first team in NBA history to achieve the same feat against the Heat. So much so, he had to see it for himself.
When an opportunity came up to go to Game 6 on Saturday night in Miami, Damon – who lives in his hometown of Orlando – couldn’t pass it up.
“A buddy of mine is a huge Celtics fan, and he’s like, ‘Oh, we gotta go down. You have to bring your (World Series) ring,’” Damon said on Sunday. “I was like, ‘Uh, OK.’ So he had a Citation 10 (jet) ready to rock and roll and we went down. …
“We had a great night.”
Sure enough, there Damon was on Saturday, courtside at the Kaseya Center and flashing his World Series ring as he witnessed the Celtics win on Derrick White’s miraculous buzzer-beater to force Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night in Boston. Damon, who’s a fan of the Orlando Magic, said the game also gave him an opportunity to catch up with Charles Barkley, who he plays golf with occasionally, and his former neighbor Shaquille O’Neal, who are both part of TNT’s coverage.
On Sunday, Damon was still in disbelief of what he saw.
“What a great finish,” Damon said. “I mean, nobody knew who the (expletive) won the game last night. And it was like, ‘Uh, did that just happen?’ …
“When Jimmy Butler hit those three free throws, it was like, game’s over. All they had to do was play 2.6 or 2.8 seconds left to finish the game, and the Heat couldn’t do it. Wow.”
The comparisons between the 2004 Red Sox and 2023 Celtics were easy to make after the C’s went down in a 0-3 series hole. Like the Red Sox, who lost 19-8 in Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS, the Celtics suffered a humiliating Game 3 defeat that put them in their seemingly impossible situation. The C’s seemed to welcome the comparisons, even if it seemed a little forced initially.
“Don’t let us get one,” Marcus Smart said before Game 4, repeating a famous line made by the Red Sox’ Kevin Millar before Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS when he said, “Don’t let us win tonight.”
Three consecutive wins later, and history is at the Celtics’ doorstep just like the Red Sox in 2004. Damon is embracing it.
“We have a chance to have another team in the conversation with our 2004 Red Sox,” Damon said. “This Celtics team, they were down and out after Game 3, kind of like we were back in 2004, 19 years ago. They figured it out. People were calling them all kinds of names like, ‘Oh, they didn’t fight, they didn’t do this, they didn’t do that,’ but here they are. Game 7.”
Monday night promises to be a wild night at TD Garden, where it’s certainly possible that several members of the 2004 Red Sox will be in attendance to see the Celtics attempt to make history. Damon, though he teased on Twitter that he wanted to make the trip to Boston, said he’ll be unable to go. It seems likely that David Ortiz, who’s been in attendance for several Celtics playoff games in recent years, will be there.
“That’d be great,” said Al Horford, who’s a close friend of Ortiz. “You know, at this point, this is special for Boston and Boston sports.”
The Celtics are expecting an incredible atmosphere on Monday night. Jayson Tatum said after Game 6 that he had never been more excited to get back to Boston in his life as the Celtics try to become the first of 151 teams in NBA history to overcome an 0-3 hole while simultaneously advancing to their second consecutive NBA Finals.
As epic and exhilarating as Game 6 was, the Celtics know they haven’t accomplished anything yet.
“We all talked about it,” Tatum said. “We’re all aware it’s not time to celebrate. We didn’t accomplish anything. We won a big game that we had to win in incredible fashion. We’re proud of the way we played, proud of the way we figured it out.
“But the job is far from finished.”
Damon has been there. His Red Sox finished the job in Game 7 at Yankee Stadium. Damon hit two home runs, including a grand slam, as the Sox rolled to a 10-3 victory over the Yankees, then to a sweep of the Cardinals in the World Series and into Boston sports lore. The Celtics are hoping to be remembered in the same way.
“It’s a very cool scenario,” Damon said. “You know what, hopefully they can get the job done so there’s another team in the conversation. But if they don’t, they’re going to have to keep talking about our team and how great we were and how much we had to overcome and how much we had to fight, and how much we had to do our shots of Jack Daniels and all that good stuff.
“So, for the Boston fans, they’ve been great to me for a long time and I got nothing against the Heat, but may the best team win (on Monday).”