In 2005, Terry's Dallas Mavericks won a playoff series despite falling behind the Houston Rockets, 2-0.
NEW YORK -- At some point over the next two days, before Friday's Game 3, Jason Terry will tell his Boston Celtics teammates a tale.
His story involves a team that fought back from an even greater hole than the Celtics currently face. Terry remembers all of the details well, because he lived it.
In 2005, his Dallas Mavericks fell behind the Houston Rockets in a first-round series, 2-0. After getting pounded at home in Game 1, Dallas dropped Game 2 by two points when Tracy McGrady hit a jumper with 2.2 seconds left and Michael Finley failed to match it. To make matters worse than Boston's present predicament, both the losses came at home.
Terry recalls the early series deficit, and he can still tell you what happened next.
"We lost the first two at home, won in their building, beat them pretty good twice, and ended up winning in seven games," he said.
Some fun facts about that series: The Rockets started T-Mac, Yao Ming, David Wesley and Bob Sura, with the fifth slot alternating between Ryan Bowen and Scott Padgett. Dikembe Mutombo and Moochie Norris came off the bench. In Game 7, Dirk Nowitzki mustered just 14 points on 5-14 shooting, but Terry went off for 31 points with an obscene +43 rating in Dallas' 116-76 win.
Terry said he wants to share his comeback success, especially to his less experienced teammates.
"No question," he said. "Our veterans have been through a lot. But the young guys must understand that them winning two games at home, good for them. Now we must go and do our job."
Terry got a little loose during the first half Tuesday, drilling three 3-pointers as Boston built a six-point lead. But everything crumbled for his team in the second half and he could not encourage another shot to drop.
"It's a long series," he said. "You can't get too high or too low, you just have to keep grinding and watch the film and understand what you have to do to be successful. And right now it's playing a full 48 minutes of basketball; we haven't done that yet."