Celtics

Xavier Tillman’s contribution to this Celtics win was the stuff championships are made of

Tillman’s impact, particularly in the third quarter when the Celtics outscored the Mavericks, 35-19, was as important as it was unexpected.

By Chad Finn

June 13, 2024

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With one more victory — one more magical, affirming, championship-clinching victory — Al Horford will have completed his 17th season in the NBA.

He has played in 1,078 regular-season games, and the Celtics’ 106-99 victory over the Mavericks in Game 3 of the Finals Wednesday night was his 184th playoff game.

Horford has experienced so much, and seen so much more. He has context. He has lived context.

His sharp-focused perspective, which the 38-year-old possessed even as a young player, includes an acute and astute sense for what will be remembered and what will fade.

As inevitable as the franchise’s 18th championship feels, Horford isn’t getting ahead of himself. He knows better.

But in the moments after Wednesday’s victory, he acknowledged one performance — one play, even — that is sure to stay with us long after the duck boats’ engines have cooled.

“These,” said Horford, referring to reserve forward Xavier Tillman, “are the type of games people remember forever, the type of impact he had.”

Tillman’s impact, particularly in the exhilarating third quarter when the Celtics outscored the Mavericks, 35-19, was as important as it was unexpected.

A tough, switchable defensive player, Tillman came to the Celtics from the Grizzlies at the trade deadline. He fit in immediately with his good nature but had a difficult time finding meaningful minutes.

He played just 274 minutes over 20 games, and had seen just 51 minutes of action in this postseason — none in this series — until Game 3.

With Kristaps Porzingis absent with a foot/ankle injury, Tillman got his chance. Coach Joe Mazzulla noted Tillman’s familiarity with the Mavericks from his time in the Western Conference as one reason the opportunity came his way, and in his 11 minutes, he did play some stout defense, which included two blocked shots.

But it was a specific contribution on the offensive end that is going to be embedded in our memory banks.

The Celtics trailed, 59-58, when Kyrie Irving hit a floater at 9:33 of the third. Back-to-back threes by Jrue Holiday and Jayson Tatum gave the Celtics a 64-59 lead.

Behind Jaylen Brown, who scored 15 of his 30 points in the quarter, the Celtics then extended their lead to 75-65 with just under three minutes left in the quarter.

They had momentum, and Tillman brought it to its culmination, drilling a corner three off a Brown dish to put the Celtics up, 78-65, at the 2:14 mark.

The shot might not have had much magnitude to those who don’t follow the Celtics as a daily passion. To them, it might have looked like nothing more than a role player sticking a shot for a team on a tear.

But Celtics fans, the real ones, know what it meant.

For those with crisp memories of the last championship 16 years ago, it was reminiscent of P.J. Brown’s huge shot in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cavaliers. Brown was another in-season acquisition who came through when the situation demanded it.

Like Brown, Tillman has been a selfless veteran, patiently waiting for his chance. At the same time, he has endured deep personal sadness. His father died unexpectedly in May.

These Celtics are an especially family-focused team; sometimes there seem to be more players’ children in the locker room than players. It must be unfathomably difficult for Tillman not to have his father with him on this journey.

It was downright heartwarming to see Tillman beaming after drilling his 3-pointer, his smile brought on in part by his teammates’ reaction on the bench.

“To hear the bench going crazy on our end — guys like Svi [Mykhailiuk] and Oshae [Brissett] and stuff like that — it was pretty awesome because those are my guys,” said Tillman. “Those are my SRG [stay-ready] guys.

“Day in, day out, we go to war with each other to try to better each other to be ready for whoever’s name gets called. So for them to celebrate with me is pretty cool.”

Brown, who also was exceptional down the stretch in the fourth quarter when the Mavericks made a late charge, said he knew Tillman’s shot was going in even before he let it fly.

“I just knew it,” said Brown. “I just knew when I drove, they were going to help, and he was going open. And I trusted it all the way. I just knew it was going in.

“I don’t know how to tell you. It was just like a divine experience. I knew X was going to make that shot, and he did.”

Tillman’s bucket wasn’t the only one in the third quarter that has a chance to stick as a permanent part of Celtics lore.

With seven seconds left, Brown drove and threw down a ferocious dunk to send the Celtics into the final quarter with an 85-70 lead.

Calling the slam the exclamation point on the third quarter would be an understatement. It’s almost as if a new form of punctuation needs to be invented to describe the thunderous thing.

“I had been making those [kick-out] passes in the first half, and they didn’t want to give those threes up,” said Brown. “So they kind of were in between, and when I saw that, it was lights out. I just went up and finished it.”

Brown essentially finished the victory, too, scoring 9 points in the fourth quarter, including a crucial pull-up jumper with 1:01 left to give the Celtics a 102-98 lead and help halt the near-collapse.

“I’m just trying to stay in the moment,” said Brown. “It feels great to be up 3-0 in the series but the job is not done.

“But it’s awesome. I mean, I can’t … I don’t even really have words. It kind of doesn’t even really feel real right now.”

Think this feels awesome and surreal now, Jaylen?

Just wait until after the next one.