It’s been 14 years since the Celtics have the chance to win a championship — since Game 7 of the 2010 Finals.

They (sort of) get that chance again on Monday, when the Maine Celtics host the OKC Blue for Game 3 of the G-League Finals at 9pm at the Portland Expo.

Yes, it’s the G-League, and no, the reward is not a Larry O’Brian trophy.

But, if you ask anyone on the Maine Celtics roster, a championship would still be pretty sweet.

“It would be really cool,” Neemias Queta, one of the team’s top performers, said. “All the guys put in the work during the whole year for one goal and one goal only, and that was to win this championship, and we’re just one win away at this point.”

Maine turned it around midseason

The Maine Celtics began their season a .500 team, winning 8 of 16 exhibition games and 11 of their first 22 regular season game. But, they caught fire toward the second half of the season, ultimately emerging victorious in 10 of their last 12 games.

Then, in the playoffs, they defeated the Delaware Blue Coats 119-112 in the Conference Semi-Finals, and then beat Long Island Nets 99-77 in the Conference Finals – both single-elimination games they hosted in Portland. DJ Steward played a pivotal role in both of those wins, exploding for 19 fourth-quarter points in the win over the Nets.

A best-of-three Finals series began with a 106-86 Game 1 win against the Oklahoma City Blue last week. In that game, Maine dominated from start to finish, led by JD Davison (23 points and 12 assists) and Neemias Queta (20 points (9-11 FG), 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks).

Maine then struggled in Game 2 — their first road game of the postseason — falling to the Blue 99-89. Lindy Waters III, who had been with the Thunder throughout the playoff run, joined the Blue and exploded for 27 points on 10-13 shooting. Meanwhile, with the exception of Drew Peterson (29 points), everyone struggled offensively for Maine.

Now, an entire season culminates in a single 48-minute game, in front of one of the most raucous home crowds in the entire G-League.

“We’re pretty confident about it,” Queta told reporters on Friday night. “We’re just going to go about it like any other day and just try to bring home a win our way.”

Members of the Boston Celtics will likely be in Portland to support

Joe Mazzulla said he’ll be there in Maine for the decisive Game 3, and could very well be joined by players and others from the organization. Brad Stevens was at Game 1 of the G-League Finals, and Allison Feaster (VP of Team Operations and Organization Growth) and Mike Zarren (VP of Basketball Operations) were both present for the conference finals.

Last month, six Celtics players attended a Maine Celtic game in College Park, George on their day off in Atlanta.

Mazzulla has said on multiple occasions that the Maine Celtics’ success is indicative of a connectivity between the two teams and the organization at large. He’s in regular communication with Blaine Mueller, Maine’s head coach, and noted that Blaine and other members of his staff were in Boston for training camp.

“It just validates what you’re trying to create as far as the development, and understanding that everything that everybody does is super important, and that when you work at it, you can achieve those types of results,” Mazzulla said.

Since Neemias Queta signed a standard deal last week, Maine now two fully-guaranteed Celtics players on its roster (Queta and Jordan Walsh). The team also has two two-way players, JD Davison and Drew Peterson.

All four of those players got extended minutes with the parent club on Friday night, and three of those guys – Walsh, Queta, and Peterson – set NBA career-highs on Friday night against the Hornets. Walsh finished with 8 points (3-4 FG), Queta with 16 points (8-10 FG) and Peterson with 8 points (3-4 FG). JD Davison (7 points) was only one point shy of his career mark.

“Those guys have done a great job, and when they’re two-ways, and the guys have come up with us, they don’t miss a beat,” Mazzulla said. “Blaine and the staff have done a great job of kind of making it their own, but at the same time, kind of following the principles and the schemes, culturally and on both ends of the floor. So, I’m happy for them.”

The Maine guys will be active with the Celtics on Sunday against the Wizards, before heading up to Portland for the championship. The cheapest tickets to that game are listed for $100, a steep increase from the previous Maine playoff games, which were listed at $15.

That’s because eager fans know this could be their last chance to see the Celtics win a championship — until June, that is.