Three other NBA teams who forced Game 7 after trailing 3-0

Who were the other three? First, there were the 1951 New York Knicks, who fell behind 0-3 in the NBA Finals, losing the first two games by a combined 42 points. They rallied at home in Game 4, behind Harry Gallatin's 22 points. 12 of them were on free throws, meaning the game was probably refereed by Scott Foster's grandfather, in an attempt to get better radio ratings for the series.

In Game 5, Connie "Corny" Simmons and 1948 Max Zaslofsky combined for 50 points in Rochester, and in Game 6, it was Zaslofsky and Ernie Vandeweghe - Kiki's father - helping the Knicks force Game 7. But in Game 7, a thrilling 17-15 fourth quarter gave the Rochester Royals the title, led by Hall of Famers Arnie "Stilts" Risen and the "Harrisburg Houdini", Bob Davies, who popularized dribbling behind his back.

In 1994, the Denver Nuggets became the first No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed when they knocked off the 63-win Supersonics. They went down 0-2 after two losses that weren't that close. But Denver scored 41 points in the first quarter of Game 3 and blew Seattle out, then won Games 4 and 5 in overtime. The star was second-year center Dikembe Mutombo, who blocked 22 shots in the final three games.

What's forgotten about that Nuggets team is that in the second round, they fell behind 0-3 to the Utah Jazz before rallying again. Denver took Game 4 by a single point, outlasted the Jazz in a double-OT Game 5 win and took Game 6 by three points. But Karl Malone was too much for the plucky Nuggets in Game 7, putting up 31 points to go with 14 rebounds as Utah advanced. The exhausted Jazz then fell to the eventual champs, the Houston Rockets, in the conference finals.

The most recent time an 0-3 team made it to Game 7 was 20 years ago, when the Portland Trail Blazers dropped the first three games to the Dallas Mavericks. First, Portland held Steve Nash scoreless in a Game 4 rout. Then Rasheed Wallace led a fourth-quarter comeback to steal Game 5 in Dallas, and Game 6 was an even bigger blowout than Game 4.

But Dirk Nowitzki finally got some help in Game 7. That came in the form of 26 points from Nick Van Exel and 21 from Nash, as the Mavs held on to win the series. Their motivation, besides fear of going down in infamy? Portland's Ruben Patterson said the Mavericks were "scared", giving Dallas a little extra motivation. 

Nine months later, Wallace had been traded to the Pistons, Scottie Pippen and Bonzi Wells were gone  and the Blazers began breaking up their team. Could it have gone differently if they'd managed to make history in Dallas?

Now the Celtics have a chance to make history. But as Charles Barkley reminded Jaylen Brown after Game 6, a team only makes history by winning Game 7, not getting there.