There was great tension and excitement at TD Garden on Sunday as a championship basketball game came down to the last possession.
The Celtics hadn’t been in the stadium for two months, but there were several players with Boston ties vying for the Big3 championship. And one familiar name helped Bivouac win its first title with a 50-47 victory over 3’s Company in front of an estimated 10,000 fans.
Former Celtics first-round pick and slam dunk champion Gerald Green was named 3-on-3 league MVP with 18 points, and his brother Garlon scored the game-winning basket after former second-round pick Michael Beasley lost the ball on a crucial possession.
Beasley led 3’s company, coached by Michael Cooper, who was just inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, with 28 points, but he couldn’t get his club back to the top. Green, who was drafted to Boston out of Gulf Shores Academy High School 19 years ago, is now 38, but he sank six 3-pointers while Bivouac led most of the way.
Afterwards, Bivouac celebrated its first title with lit cigars and popping champagne bottles.
The league toured 10 cities over the summer, and Bivouac advanced to the championship with a win over Tri-State. Three years after a winless season, Bivouac rose to the top, led by Gerald Green, who held a solid bench position with his hometown Houston Rockets before a foot injury ended his career in 2019.
“You know what? My brother and I, our first championship together in the same building where the team drafted me when I was pursuing my dream of being a Celtic,” Green said. “It just makes sense. My kids live out here. Every time I go there, the city embraces me like I’m still a Celtic. I’ll always be a Celtic at heart.”
Naismith Hall of Fame member Gary Payton led the team, which included former lottery pick Corey Brewer, to a 9-1 record and was named Big3 Coach of the Year.
Former Patriots defensive back and Super Bowl 49 hero Malcolm Butler was in attendance, while Pro Football Hall of Famer Ty Law played in the Big3 celebrity game.
Former BC center and Celtic player Sean Williams helped 3′s Company with 2 points, while former Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers contributed 9 points, all on 3-point shots.
The Big3 is owned and operated by rapper and producer Ice Cube, and the league just finished its seventh season. Wanting to add a special touch to its championship weekend in Boston, the league invited the Dutch 3×3 team, the Olympic champions in Paris, to play in the Big3 All-Stars for a prize of $150,000. The Netherlands accepted the challenge, but according to Ice Cube, FIBA rejected the offer because the international basketball governing body did not have enough time to approve the game.
Gary Washburn is a columnist for the Globe. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.
