Category: Games

The AP reports:

Beating Boston for the first time in a Game 7, the Lakers came up champions again after trailing in the last quarter of the last game of their season.

Kobe Bryant, the finals MVP, scored 23 points despite 6-of-24 shooting and the Lakers won their 16th NBA championship Thursday night, dramatically rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7 of the NBA finals.

Bryant earned his fifth title with the Lakers, who repeated as NBA champions for the first time since winning three straight from 2000-02.

The AP reports:

Ron Artest added 20 points for the Lakers, who shot terribly while trailing for most of the first 3 1/2 quarters. Yet they reclaimed the lead midway through the fourth quarter and hung on with big shots from Pau Gasol and Artest…

Paul Pierce had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who just couldn’t finish the final quarter of a remarkable playoff run after a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Kevin Garnett added 17 points, but Boston flopped in two chances to clinch the series in Los Angeles after winning Game 5 back home.

After three quarters of mostly terrible offense, the Lakers tied it at 61 on Artest’s three-point play with 7:29 left. Bryant’s free throws 90 seconds later gave the Lakers their first lead of the second half, and the Lakers went up by five points before Bryant and Sasha Vujacic hit free throws in the final seconds to keep Los Angeles ahead.

The AP reports:

The Celtics had much more poise from the opening tip in Game 7, playing vicious defense that forced Los Angeles to miss 21 of its first 27 shots. Bryant and Gasol were a combined 6 for 26 in the first half while the Lakers made just 26.5 percent of their shots, and only Ron Artest’s 12 points and relentless effort kept the Celtics’ halftime lead to six points.

The Lakers are the first team to rally from a 3-2 deficit to win a finals since Houston did it in 1994, beating the New York Knicks.

InsideHoops.com reports:

The Lakers shot just 32.5%, while the Celtics hit 40.8%. The Lakers were only 4-of-20 from three-point range; the Celtics 6-of-16. But the Lakers got 37 free throw attempts (hitting just 25), while the Celtics only got 17 attempts (hitting 15). The Lakers won the rebounding battle 53-40, and had 23 offensive boards (Boston had just 8). The Lakers as a team had only 11 assists, with 11 turnovers.

For Los Angeles, Kobe shot 6-of-24 for 23 points and 15 rebounds. Ron Artest shot 7-of-18 for 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals (but 4 turnovers). Pau Gasol shot 6-of-16 for 19 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Derek Fisher shot 4-of-6 for 10 points. Lamar Odom hit 3-of-8 off the bench for 7 points and 7 rebounds.

For Boston, Paul Pierce shot 5-of-15 for 18 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Garnett shot 8-of-13 for 17 points, only 3 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Rajon Rondo shot 6-of-13 for 14 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists. Ray Allen shot just 3-of-14 for 14 points and 3 steals. And Rasheed Wallace, starting in place of the injured Kendrick Perkins, shot 5-of-11 for 11 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.

The AP reports:

With an emphatic, historic blowout win in Game 6 Tuesday night, Los Angeles earned the right to host the grand finale to both the NBA season and this scintillating chapter in the league’s most glamorous rivalry.

Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 17 points and 13 rebounds, and the Lakers held Boston to the second lowest-scoring performance in NBA finals history in an 89-67 victory, setting up a winner-take-all Game 7 on Thursday…

“We didn’t get in any rhythm early, and it affects our chemistry,” said Ray Allen, who scored 19 points. “We each tried to make the home run play early. As a starting unit, we take responsibility. We have to do a better job next game.”

Ron Artest added 15 points for the Lakers, who got their backs off the wall with a dazzling first half and a strong finish built around defense that held Boston to 33 percent shooting. Only Utah’s infamous 54-point performance against Chicago in 1998 was worse.

Bryant grabbed 11 rebounds, and Gasol led the Lakers with nine assists in a remarkable bounce-back game for Los Angeles, which dominated from the opening minutes by vacuuming up rebounds—13 more than Boston—and playing relentless defense…

Paul Pierce scored 13 points and Kevin Garnett added 12, but the Celtics’ offense was a jumbled, stand-around mess. Rajon Rondo, the late-game hero in Boston’s last appearance in Los Angeles, got off to a 1-for-8 shooting start before finishing with 10 points and six assists…

The Celtics lost starting center Kendrick Perkins in the first quarter to a sprained right knee when he landed awkwardly under the hoop, but his absence couldn’t explain the Lakers’ utter domination of the first half—a 30-13 rebounding edge while holding Boston to 34 percent shooting and frustrating Rondo.

The Boston Globe reports:

The Lakers could do no wrong on this night. They won the rebounding war (52-39). They dominated the paint (40-32). And after seemingly taking on the Celtics by himself in Game 6, Kobe Bryant found reinforcements everywhere.

His 38-point Game 5 assault bulged off the stat sheet, but his 26-point, 11-rebound, 3-assist effort last night seemed to blend in. Pau Gasol was an assist shy of a triple-double (17 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists). Ron Artest, seemingly lost the past two games, beamed himself back into the series with a 15-point, 6-rebound performance. The Lakers bench combined for 25 points and 16 rebounds. All the pieces put together were too much for the Celtics.

“They did everything harder than we did,’’ said Boston’s Tony Allen. “It’s just unusual.’’

The Celtics shot 33 percent from the floor. A sign of how futile their offense was? At the start of the fourth quarter, Ray Allen, Garnett, Pierce, and Rajon Rondo were the only four Celtics in the scoring column.

The Boston Globe reports:

The Lakers’ bench outscored its Celtics’ counterpart, 25-13, in LA’s 89-67 victory, putting up its most productive effort in the series. Sasha Vujacic scored 9 points off the bench and Lamar Odom contributed 8, playing 28:26 while Andrew Bynum (15:53) rested his knee.

They were part of a unit that did most of its damage in the second quarter. The effort was visible early when Lakers guard Jordan Farmar and Rajon Rondo scurried after a loose ball in the second quarter. Farmar used a headfirst slide to sling the ball toward Kobe Bryant, who was chasing along the left side. Bryant picked up the ball and drove to the basket and was fouled with eight minutes to go in the half. Bryant hit both free throws to give the Lakers a 36-23 lead.

Bryant didn’t have to stay in the game for the Lakers to be effective. He came out with 7:46 to go in the first half, and when he returned three minutes later, the Lakers had stretched the lead to 18 points (45-27).

The Los Angeles Times reports:

The Lakers held the Celtics to 28-of-84 shooting (33.3%) and outrebounded Boston, 52-39. Rajon Rondo had a quiet night, scoring only 10 points on five-for-15 shooting. Paul Pierce had 13 points and Kevin Garnett 12.

“Our defense was good,” Jackson said. “Our rebounding was better.”

The Lakers’ reserves were decisively better, with Lamar Odom totaling eight points and 10 rebounds, and Sasha Vujacic scoring nine points in 14 minutes. The Boston bench was scoreless until Nate Robinson’s reverse layup with 9:56 left in the fourth quarter.

Thursday will be a first for Jackson, who has never coached a Game 7 in the Finals. He is 3-1 in Game 7s with the Lakers, most recently a winner in last season’s Western Conference semifinal against Houston.

After the final seconds ticked down Tuesday, longtime Lakers public-address announcer Lawrence Tanter intoned, “There will be a Gaaaame 7.”

The AP reports:

It’s looking a lot like 2008 again, with Paul Pierce carrying the Boston Celtics to victory in the NBA finals and leading them to the brink of yet another title.

Pierce scored 27 points—his best performance of this year’s finals—and the Celtics withstood 38 points from Kobe Bryant to beat the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers 92-86 on Sunday night and take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series…

Bryant outscored Pierce this time, but the Lakers’ guard got little help from his teammates. And the stretch where he was most dominant was also the time when the Celtics pulled away…

With the “Beat L.A!” chant reverberating at the Garden, Kevin Garnett scored 18 points with 10 rebounds and Rajon Rondo had 18 points, eight assists and five rebounds to help Boston become the first team in the series to win two games in a row…

Bryant did everything he could to send the Lakers home with the edge.

He scored 23 straight Lakers points between the 4:23 mark of the second quarter until there was 2:16 left in the third. But over that span, the Celtics expanded the lead from one point to 13…

Pau Gasol scored 12 points with 12 rebounds and Fisher, the Game 3 star, scored all nine of his points in the first quarter as no other Laker reached double figures in scoring until Gasol hit a free throw with 2:25 left. Andrew Bynum played on his sore right knee for 31 minutes, but he scored all six of his points and his only rebound in the first quarter.

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reports:

Bryant had 38 points but didn’t get much assistance. The Lakers had only 12 assists, the game basically turning into Bryant all by himself, for better or worse.

Ron Artest was poor on offense, yet again, scoring seven points on two-for-nine shooting and experiencing an equally bad defensive game as Pierce scored 27 points.

Andrew Bynum tried to play despite a sore right knee but had only six points and one rebound in almost 32 minutes.

Lamar Odom battled flu symptoms and again fell into single-single territory, totaling eight points and eight rebounds. He has yet to take 10 rebounds in a game this series.

The Lakers now trail in a series for the first time this postseason after scoring their fewest points of the playoffs.

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reports:

Bryant took some ill-advised shots, but how unsupportive was his cast? He was the only Lakers player in double-figure scoring until Gasol made a free throw with 2:25 to play.

The Lakers shot only 39.7% and were drilled in points in the paint, 46-32, but they had their chances in the fourth quarter, pulling within 87-82 on three free throws by Bryant with 1:30 left.

Then Derek Fisher somehow outleaped Kevin Garnett on a jump ball at the other end, and Bryant found Artest behind the Celtics’ defense, but Artest missed two free throws after being fouled with 43.3 seconds left.

Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times reports:

Beyond Bryant, the Lakers seemed unnerved, with their lowest point total this postseason. Gasol, Bryant’s usual running mate, tip-toed his way to 12 points on 12 shots. No other Laker scored in double digits. Derek Fisher, who received a technical with Ray Allen in the third quarter, and Artest each shot 2 for 9. Andrew Bynum, who had his troublesome knee drained between games, lasted 32 minutes, but did not score after the first quarter.

In between games with a long flight before them, Bryant said he would not offer a pep talk.

“What the hell is the big deal?” said Bryant, who made 13 of his 27 shots and four 3-pointers. “I don’t see it as a big deal. If I have to say something to them, then we don’t deserve to be champions.”

Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated reports:

The onus also falls on Artest, signed over the summer to guard players just like Pierce in situations just like this. Artest and Pierce have had many confrontations over the years, dating back to those classic Pacers-Celtics series in the early to mid 2000s; and at first, Pierce struggled terribly. Artest would push him out to the 3-point line, never allowing him to catch the ball where he wanted, forcing him to post up 20 feet from the basket. Even when Pierce did get the ball, Artest would often strip him as he started his dribble.

But according to a former Celtics assistant coach, Pierce gradually learned how to attack Artest. He became more aggressive getting to his spot. He held the ball more securely on the drive. And most important, he recognized that he was quicker than Artest and could get around him with a sudden first step. “You saw it start to change,” the coach said. Pierce was so effective against Artest on Sunday that at one point Bryant even asked to switch defensive assignments. The Lakers stuck with Artest, but for the first time in these Finals, he was soundly beaten.

The AP reports:

Glen “Big Baby” Davis led the Celtics bench on a game-changing run Thursday night, scoring half of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as Boston pulled away from the Los Angeles Lakers to win 96-89 and knot the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.

“This is what legends are made of, this is where you grasp the moment,” Davis said. “Just play in the moment.” …

“We know what to do. We know how to play. We know how to get it done,” said Lakers forward Pau Gasol, who scored 21 points to go with a game-high 33 for Kobe Bryant. “And we know how important Game 5 will be, so we’ve just got to get ourselves mentally and physically ready … to accomplish our mission.”

Pierce scored 19 points, Kevin Garnett had 13 and Ray Allen bounced back from a seven-quarter shooting slump to score 12 points for Boston. But the new Big Three that led the Celtics to their unprecedented 17th NBA title in 2008— beating the Lakers in the finals—was on the bench for much of the fourth-quarter run that gave Boston the lead for good…

Nate Robinson scored 12 points in 17 minutes as the Celtics’ bench outscored the Lakers’ 36-18. Ten of L.A.’s bench points came from Lamar Odom, who played 39 minutes after starting center Andrew Bynum tested his sore knee but did not play in the second half…

Ray Allen finished 4 for 11 from the field—missing all four 3-pointers, but scored 10 points in the second half.

The Boston Globe blog reports:

“I just felt like a beast,’’ Davis said. “Really, I’m going to be honest with you. I just felt like I couldn’t be denied — rebound. If a rebound was in my vicinity, or like if the ball was going to be held up, you know, I just felt like I just couldn’t be denied.

“There’s not too many times you get a chance to be in the Finals and be a part of something so great that you can never really imagine yourself even being here. I just couldn’t be denied today.’’

Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe reports:

Rasheed Wallace was one of the catalysts in the fourth-quarter charge that helped the Celtics tie the NBA Finals at 2-2 with a 96-89 win over the Lakers last night, but he walked away from the win with his sixth technical foul of the playoffs, leaving him one shy of an automatic one-game suspension.

He picked up the technical with 7:25 to go in the fourth, exaggeratedly shocked at being called for a foul on Kobe Bryant under the basket. There have been times in the Finals when Wallace was so shocked by calls that his face lit up in equal parts surprise and outrage, high-stepping and dancing away from both the play and the officials.

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reports:

Bryant nearly found a way to carry the Lakers to victory last night, using long, contested 3-pointers as his weapon, but it wasn’t his preferred weapon. Bryant, of course, would rather dash to the basket for acrobatic layups, or drive, stop, and lean back for fadeaways.

The Celtics have to allow Kobe to score; they have no choice because he remains unstoppable. But they are using stifling defense to force Bryant into an uncomfortable zone. He looks irritated. He looks frustrated, just as he was when Artest missed his pass two consecutive times.

Bryant scored 33 points in the Celtics’ 96-89 Game 4 victory, but 18 came on 3-pointers. Bryant converted no layups; his closest field goal was from 9 feet. He is not creating baskets with his quickness and array of moves. The Celtics are sending two defenders at him and he is attempting shots in those small windows, such as the ones Artest missed in the second half.

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reports:

The Lakers found out Thursday how much Andrew Bynum meant to them, fading in the second half against the more physical Celtics, 96-89, and finding themselves pulled into a 2-2 deadlock in the Finals.

The Lakers’ center had only two points and three rebounds in 12 injury-shortened minutes, the 22-year-old unable to muster much because of a swollen right knee.

It didn’t help that the Celtics’ reserves thoroughly outplayed those of the Lakers, that Lamar Odom did next to nothing and Kobe Bryant looked fatigued, according to Coach Phil Jackson.

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reports:

Beyond Bryant and Gasol, Odom was the only other player in double figure-scoring for the Lakers, finishing with 10 points but taking only one rebound in 22 minutes in the second half.

The Lakers held a 45-42 edge at halftime but were eventually undone by scoring only 17 points in the third quarter and giving up 36 points in the fourth.

“They got all the energy points, the hustle points, second-chance points, points in the paint, beat us to the loose balls,” Bryant said. “I mean, that’s how the game turned around.”

Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times reports:

There was nothing subtle about it. The Celtics were more physical and played harder.

The Lakers went back into bug-on-the-Celtics-windshield mode.

With Bynum gone, Kendrick Perkins went back to pounding on Pau Gasol, who went into flamingo-in-a-cement-mixer mode with Lamar Odom in deer-in-headlights mode.

“I just felt like a beast,” said Davis. “I’ll be honest with you, I felt like I couldn’t be denied.”

The Celtics led, 85-77, when Boston Coach Doc Rivers put the regulars back in, by which time Wallace and Robinson had also drawn technical fouls for their unmatchable histrionics.

The AP reports:

Derek Fisher rallied his teammates with a motivational speech on the bench during the break before the fourth quarter.

Then he went out and showed them how it’s done.

“Derek, he’s our vocal leader. He’s the guy that pulls everybody together and is always giving positive reinforcement,” Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said after Fisher made five baskets in the final period to lead Los Angeles to a 91-84 victory Tuesday night over the Boston Celtics and a 2-1 lead in the NBA finals…

Bryant scored 29 points and Fisher had 16, including 11 in the fourth quarter after Boston cut a 17-point first-half lead to one point…

Bryant had 25 points after three quarters, but he did not score for the first 10 minutes of the fourth. That’s when Fisher took over, hitting four out of five Lakers baskets to help them reclaim the home-court advantage they lost when the Celtics won Game 2 in L.A…

Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum had 10 rebounds apiece for Los Angeles.

Kevin Garnett, who had just six points in Boston’s victory Sunday, had 25 in Game 3. But Allen, who had 32 points in Game 2, missed all 13 field goal attempts—one shy of the NBA finals futility record—many of them while Fisher was guarding him…

The Lakers opened a 37-20 first-half lead, but Boston cut the deficit to four late in the third quarter and then made it 68-67 early in the fourth on consecutive drives by Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Rajon Rondo. With a chance to take the lead, Allen was called for an offensive foul away from the ball…

Allen missed all eight 3-pointers, all five 2-pointers and got to the line just twice.

The AP reports:

Somewhere during the second quarter in Game 2 of the NBA finals, Ray Allen slipped into that shooting zone only visited by real-life superstars and movie characters.

With his fundamentally flawless jumper snapping crisply from his wrists, the Boston guard hit 3-pointers in dizzying bunches against the helpless Los Angeles Lakers. He made seven in the first half and finished with a finals-record eight 3’s in the Celtics’ 103-94 victory Sunday night.

Allen’s wry smile after he hit three straight 3-pointers in a two-minute span evoked memories of Michael Jordan shrugging his shoulders during his 35-point half against Portland in the 1992 finals. Even Jesus Shuttlesworth— you know, the sharpshooting kid Allen played in “He Got Game”—would have been proud.

The AP reports:

While Allen scored 27 of his 32 points in the first half with a record-setting 3-point shooting display, Rondo completed his fifth playoff triple-double down the stretch. Taking charge after Allen cooled down, the point guard racked up 19 points—including the quick-reflex basket that put Boston ahead for good—along with 12 rebounds and 10 assists…

Kobe Bryant scored 21 points while battling more foul trouble for the Lakers, who couldn’t catch up to Boston’s dynamic guards in Los Angeles’ first home playoff loss since last season’s Western Conference finals. Pau Gasol had 25 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers, and Andrew Bynum added 21 points and six rebounds.

The AP reports:

Andrew Bynum also had five fouls in between tying his career playoff high with 21 points and swatting seven blocked shots. Artest fouled out with 47 seconds remaining in the game.

Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 25 points, eight rebounds and six of their finals-record 14 blocked shots.

The AP reports:

Rondo made the go-ahead basket with 3:21 remaining, reacting quickly to a loose ball after Kendrick Perkins’ shot was blocked and putting it in to make it 91-90. He blocked Derek Fisher’s shot shortly after, then knocked down a huge jumper that extended the lead to 95-90 with 1:50 to play.

Allen powered the Celtics with seven 3-pointers and 27 points in the first half, but it appeared that would be wasted when he cooled off in the second half. Boston was getting nothing from its other big stars, as Pierce shot only 2 of 11 for 10 points and Garnett battled foul trouble and scored only six.

The AP reports:

Rondo hadn’t been as sharp recently as he was in the second-round stunner, battling a sore lower back after some hard falls in the Orlando series. But he played 42 minutes Sunday and appeared in good shape.

Suddenly, so do the Celtics.

“Anything I can do to help the team win is big,” Rondo said. “I take pride in my game and how I play the game.”

The Orange County Register reports:

The Lakers’ defense was so stout that it set an NBA Finals record with 14 blocks yet could not hold Boston off quite to the end. The Celtics shot 11 of 21 (52.4 percent) from the field to break a 72-72 tie entering the fourth quarter. The catalyst was Rajon Rondo, usually guarded by Kobe Bryant, and Rondo finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and one block.

The Lakers’ resolve was shaken when Bryant committed a charging foul for his fifth foul of the game with 11:15 still to play. Bryant’s foul trouble limited him to 34 minutes – five fewer than the sore-kneed Bynum, who again had to pick up slack left from Lamar Odom’s foul trouble – and the Lakers’ rhythm was profoundly affected by tilting too far toward Bryant when he was available…

Ron Artest  was 1 for 6 on 3-point shots and 1 for 10 overall from the field, offsetting his fine defense on Boston’s Paul Pierce. But Artest wasn’t as big a bust as Odom, who had said Saturday that “the most important thing” was for him to avoid foul trouble again.

Instead, the game knocked Odom on his heels right after he entered it. His first-half absence contributed to a 14-point deficit – double the Lakers’ largest deficit in a home game this postseason.

The Orange County Register reports:

The Lakers got strafed at the 3-point line but could have overcome it. They were outscored by 10 in the paint (and Rondo had much to do with it) even though they got early fouls on Garnett, Kendrick Perkins  and Glen Davis . None fouled out, and the Lakers wasted a precious 39-minute game from Andrew Bynum. He will have only one day of rest before Games 4 and 5.

The ball got to Bryant and stuck there far too much, and the Celtics rarely let him roam to the opposite side. He missed 12 of 20, with five turnovers and only three free throw tries.

The AP reports:

Ron Artest and Paul Pierce went back-to-back with their elbows locked, both unwilling to yield even an inch underneath the hoop. The veteran forwards crashed to the court together and got up looking to rumble, earning double technical fouls.

And that was just in the first 27 seconds.

This NBA finals rematch was rough from the opening tumble, but Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol made sure the Los Angeles Lakers landed the first shot on the Boston Celtics.

Bryant scored 30 points, Gasol had 23 points and 14 rebounds, and defending champion Los Angeles got tough in a 102-89 victory over Boston in Game 1 on Thursday night.

Artest scored 15 points after his tangle with Pierce in the opening minute of the 12th finals meeting between the NBA’s most scintillating rivals. It was the opening salvo in a gritty physical effort against the Celtics, who memorably pushed around the Lakers while winning their 2008 finals matchup in six games.

The AP reports:

Pierce scored 24 points and Kevin Garnett added 16 after a slow start for the Celtics, who might not want to know Lakers coach Phil Jackson’s teams in Los Angeles and Chicago have won 47 straight playoff series after winning Game 1…

Ray Allen scored 12 points in just 27 minutes, saddled with constant foul trouble while trying to guard Bryant. Pierce also picked up early fouls, while Garnett simply struggled, going 7 for 16 from the field and grabbing just four rebounds—even inexplicably missing an open layup with 5 1/2 minutes to play.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

The Lakers’ 102-89 victory over the Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night at Staples Center was not easy as the margin. Then again, after the third quarter it wasn’t that difficult. In the end the Lakers were able to win because of their ability to get the ball into the middle and, even more importantly, let Kobe Bryant shoot the ball.

Jackson dismissed the streak as any good coach would do.

“I wish I felt that way (confident),” Jackson said. “We have to play this out. We have a lot of work ahead of us. But ultimately it’s important but then the next game becomes the most important. But the first game sets the action and that is important.”

The Los Angeles Times reports:

The game was close through the first quarter, although the Lakers at one point had a six-point lead they seemed unwilling to keep. But with less than five minutes to play in the second quarter the Lakers went on a 11-4 streak to build an 11-point lead with less than a minute to play in the half.

But the Celtics cut their deficit to nine on a Rajon Rondo jumper and the Lakers had a 50-41 lead at halftime. There were two telling statistics, the Lakers had a 28-12 advantage in points in the paint and an impressive 16-0 on second-chance points.

“Sixteen-0 is pretty remarkable,” Jackson said. “That was a big part of the game.”

The New York Times reports:

On Thursday, Gasol amassed 23 points and 14 rebounds.

“I knew it was going to be physical, that’s a given,” Gasol said. “This being our third consecutive finals, we understand the nature of the game.”

In one telling sequence in the third quarter, Gasol turned around for a hook shot and bumped into Perkins, while the ball careered off the rim. Gasol grabbed the rebound and gained his composure before missing again and scooping up the shot and elegantly laying it in.

“If you heard what you couldn’t do for two years, you’re probably going to come in and try to prove that,” Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said.

The New York Times reports:

The Lakers surged to a 50-41 halftime lead, sliced into mildly when Rajon Rondo nailed a 22-foot buzzer-beater as the second quarter expired.

Rondo scored 10 of his points in the first half by sneaking through creases in the Lakers’ defense and mostly nullifying Jackson’s decision to initially defend him with Bryant.

It took only a few seconds for emotions to flare in one of the series’ most anticipating matchup between Pierce and Artest.

The Washington Post reports:

This was the matchup the Lakers really wanted, and they showed early on that they weren’t the same team. After Rajon Rondo made a layup to start the game, Ron Artest, a member of the Sacramento Kings when the Celtics won two years ago, collided backs with Pierce under the basket. Both players wrapped their arms behind each other, pulled themselves to the ground and charged each other after they got to their feet. Words were exchanged and Pierce and Artest both received technical fouls. Artest has historically caused problems for Pierce, and he spent the rest of the night harassing him and limiting him to 24 points and 13 field goal attempts.

In his Finals debut, Artest added 15 points and three three-pointers, including one that gave the Lakers an 84-64 lead at the end of the third period. Artest later riled the crowd when he blocked a shot by Glen “Big Baby” Davis, recovered the loose ball then whirled around, swinging his arm to celebrate as Pau Gasol raced down the floor for a breakaway dunk that gave the Lakers a 91-76 lead with 6 minutes 20 seconds left in the game. Celtics Coach Doc Rivers called timeout and Bryant ran over to hug Artest and tap him on the chest.