Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7), forward Jayson Tatum (0), guard Derrick White (9) and forward Sam Hauser (30). David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Celtics fans leaving early upsets former NBA coach

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 4/25/24

With 41.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter against the Heat, Celtics fans began exiting the TD Garden Wednesday night. Their team, down 107-99, still had a mathematical shot at completing a comeback. The sight of Boston fans retreating the premises did not sit well with TNT announcer Stan Van Gundy.

"I've never understood fans leaving early. There's 41.8 to go," Van Gundy said on the air. "I mean, you might get a finish like Madison Square Garden the other night. Why would you miss it? How much earlier are you going to... there's 41.8 seconds. Why are you leaving?"

Van Gundy was referring to the thrilling Game 2 between the Knicks and Sixers on Monday, in which the Knicks were down by five points with 47.1 seconds left. New York would make a miraculous comeback to win the game 104-101 to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

Even the Heat's local Bally Sports crew poked fun at the Celtics fan base for leaving early.

One of the announcers suggested that Boston lost due to the "curse of Scalabrine," a reference to Brian Scalabrine's conspiracy theory that Miami tried to intentionally injure Jayson Tatum in Game 1.

Was the walkout a sign of Celtics fans losing faith in their team? For some inexplicable reason, the Celtics tend to play better on the road than at home in the postseason in recent years. Since the 2022 NBA playoffs, the Celtics are 12-13 at home and 14-7 on the road.

After Wednesday's game, Charles Barkley sounded off on Boston's poor home record in the playoffs.

"You have to say to yourself, 'What the hell is going on when those guys play at home?' I'm not talking about tonight — for the talent they've had the last four or five years — to be .500 at home is something. I don't even know how to explain that," Barkley said on "Inside the NBA" on TNT.

The Celtics went 37-4 at home during the regular season this year, but their postseason woes at TD Garden have seemingly resurfaced at the worst possible time. The C's will look to correct the course when they travel to Miami for Game 3 on Saturday. The game tips off at 6 p.m. ET.

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