Category: Boston Celtics Blog

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.