NBA playoffs 2022 -- The Boston Celtics are knocking on the door of the Finals, a moment they don't take lightly

BOSTON — As they find themselves on the precipice of the 2022 NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics might find motivation in a series that happened a decade ago.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were near the top of the basketball world in 2012, having reached the Finals with a roster featuring three future MVPs — Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden — all of whom were within their first five years in the league.

When the Thunder lost to the Miami Heat in five games in the Finals, the assumption was it would be the first of many OKC appearances in the NBA's championship round. They appeared to be a dynasty in the making.

That dynasty never happened.

Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets before the next season began, and year after year, a combination of injuries, bad luck and excruciating playoff losses saw the Thunder fail to return to the Finals before eventually breaking apart.

The lesson? Don't assume another chance is coming.

That Thunder team is one example of how fleeting the kind of moment the Celtics have in front of them can be. They host the Heat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) with a chance to close out the series and return to the Finals for the first time in 12 years.

«This is a great opportunity,» Boston's Jaylen Brown said after the Game 5 victory. «Leave everything on the floor. You don't want any feelings of regret.»

The Celtics have made it to the East finals six times since that last Finals trip in 2010. This, however, is arguably the closest they have been since they found themselves in the same position a decade ago: heading home to TD Garden after winning Game 5 of the East finals against the Heat to take a 3-2 series lead.

The difference was those Celtics — an