157 days elapsed, yet it never returned in the heat of the moment. The opening day lineup — nicknamed “Erotic City” after the Prince song because it seemed to embody beautiful, loving offensive firepower and defensive versatility — proved for so long to be no more than a tantalizing fantasy.



The grouping last closed a game in a tough loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 11, and was officially retired as a starting lineup after an overtime win over the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 16. Starting lineups are important in that they set a tone and map out rotations. But it’s the closing lineup that means everything.



Then with just under four minutes left in Game 2, Brad Stevens sent Gordon Hayward in for Terry Rozier, joining forces once again with Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford. With one Marcus (Smart) injured and the other (Morris) ice cold, Stevens was ready to give his original super lineup its first chance in ages...