The Celtics love to flirt with death, but Game 6 was preposterous

BOSTON -- That was preposterous. Utterly and simply ridiculous.

That thing was over.

A 10-point lead with 4 minutes left: Gone.

A 9-point lead with 3 minutes left: Adios.

A 2-point lead with 16 seconds left: Blown.

Marcus Smart's desperation three: In and out. Missed. 

Game over. 

Season over. 

And a season defined by underachievement. The offseason storyline had more or less written itself in the fourth quarter of that game.

Yet with 0.4 seconds left in the game, Derrick White got a hold of Smart's miss. And in less than one-third of a second, he managed to set the ball back on course, banking it off the backboard and through the basket.

The shot was good. The crowd was stunned. And the Celtics -- who just love to flirt with death as much as possible -- had pushed the boundary to the absolute extreme and lived to tell the tale.

"In all honesty," Jaylen Brown reflected after the 104-103 Boston victory, "at that point, I'm in full prayer mode. Whatever prayer I got, I'm reciting it over and over in my head. I knew our season was on the brink."

Boston had gotten to the brink after Al Horford fouled Jimmy Butler behind the 3-point line when the Celtics led by two points in the game's final seconds. Butler, despite a dreadful shooting night from the field, hit his 10th, 11th, and 12th free throws of the night to give Miami a one-point lead.

After a timeout, the Celtics wanted to get the ball to Jayson Tatum, but he was sandwiched by Butler and Max Strus. That forced the inbounder -- Derrick White -- to seek alternate options, and a heads-up Marcus Smart recognized the situation and made himself available. Smart's shot almost went through but ultimately spun out. 

From there, some combination of dumb luck and remarkable execution allowed White to make his season-saving play.

Even more unbelievable? The clock initially read 2.1 seconds after the Horford foul on Butler, but a review to see if Butler was behind the 3-point line changed the clock to 3.0 seconds. It didn't matter to anybody at the time. And then it meant everything.

It was, in a word, ridiculous.

Had White kept a finger on that ball for a fraction of a section longer, the Heat would be preparing for the NBA Finals and we'd all be wondering what the Celtics are going to have to do to actually win a championship. Trades, coaching changes, whatever. Something would need to be done after a series loss as inexplicable as this one.

All of that, though, lives in an alternate timeline to reality. For now, at least. Because for now, the Celtics still have Game 7.

They've already proven quite a lot in this comeback from a 3-0 deficit, becoming just the fourth team (out of 151 to have the chance) to even force a Game 7. Being in that 2.6 percent is an achievement in its own right, sure. But none of those other three teams ended up winning the Game 7. After climbing to the peak of the mountain, they all rolled back down.

This one, though? This one should be different. The Celtics simply have more talent and depth than the Heat. They should be able to win a fourth straight game to reach their second straight NBA Finals. 

They should. But, well. You saw the game. You saw the fourth quarter. And you saw the ending. Sometimes, and especially with the Celtics, "should" has very little to do with what actually happens.

Because the Boston Celtics should have lost that game on Saturday night in Miami. Living that life on the edge seems to be how they are most comfortable. It's a frightening thought to imagine what they might have in store for Game 7 on Monday.

You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.