Category: Boston Celtics Blog

The AP reports: With his team one loss from having to make an impossible climb, Kobe Bryant was close to MVP form, scoring 36 points on an assortment of spins, drives and jumpers and reserve Sasha Vujacic added 20 points as the Lakers beat the Boston Celtics 87-81 in Game 3 on Tuesday night… Vujacic, the self-proclaimed “Machine,” made three 3-pointers, including a crucial one from the left corner with 1:53 left that gave the Lakers an 81-76 lead. Pau Gasol finally flexed his muscles with two inside baskets in the fourth quarter and Derek Fisher, who took an $8 million pay cut to come back and play for the Lakers, made two free throws with 1:33 remaining as the Lakers held on… Ray Allen scored 25 points—15 on 3-pointers—for the Celtics, but only one-third of Boston’s Big Three showed up. Kevin Garnett scored 13 points on just 6-of-21 shooting and Paul Pierce, playing a short drive from his childhood home, had only six points, missed 12 shots and was in foul trouble all night… The Celtics then closed the half with a short burst, capped by Allen’s 3-pointer and were within 43-37 at the break despite getting just 2 points apiece from Garnett and Pierce, who shot a combined 2-for-16. Garnett’s only basket came on an alley-oop dunk.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Lakers shot 43.5%, the Celtics 34.9%. Both teams shot well from three-point range and struggled from the free throw line, though the Lakers hit 21-of-34 from the charity stripe, the Celtics 15-of-22. Rebounds, assists and turnovers were all close. The Celtics had a few more steals and blocks.

For the Lakers: Bryant (12-of-20, 11-of-18 free throws) had 36 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, but more turnovers than assists. Sasha Vujacic (7-of-10, 3-of-5 threes) had 20 points and 4 rebounds in 28 bench minutes. No other Laker scored double-digits. Pau Gasol (just 3-of-9) had 9 points, 12 rebounds and more turnovers than assists. Derek Fisher (just 1-of-6) scored 6. Jordan Farmar had 5 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and no turnovers off the bench. Lamar Odom (just 2-of-9) had 4 points, 9 rebounds and more turnovers than assists.

For the Celtics: Ray Allen (8-of-13, 5-of-7 threes) had 25 points and 5 rebounds. Kevin Garnett (just 6-of-21 and only two free throw attempts) had 13 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. No other Celtics scored double-digits. James Posey did more than his stats show with 9 points and 7 rebounds. Rajon Rondo scored 8 with 4 assists. Kendrick Perkins had 8 with 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Paul Pierce (awful 2-of-14) had just 6 points and 6 rebounds.

The AP reports: Trailing Boston by 24 points with less than 8 minutes left, the Lakers got within two before losing 108-102 on Sunday night to the Boston Celtics, who are heading out West feeling a little lucky to have a 2-0 lead in the NBA finals… Only three teams—Boston in 1969, Portland in 1977 and Miami in 2006—have overcome an 0-2 deficit to win the title… Paul Pierce darted around the parquet floor with ease to score 28 points and unknown Leon Powe added 21 as the Celtics held serve at home in these trip-down-memory-lane finals. But coasting to a blowout win, the Celtics nearly blew up… The Lakers trailed 95-71 with 7:55 remaining but used a 31-9 run to pull to 104-102 on two free throws by Bryant with 38.4 seconds left. Pierce, though, made two free throws, then blocked a 3-pointer by Sasha Vujacic, and James Posey made two free throws with 12.6 seconds left to ice it for Boston, which improved to 12-1 at home in the postseason.

Ticker reports: Ray Allen scored 17 points and Kevin Garnett added 17 and 14 rebounds for the Celtics, who are now just two wins from their league-best 17th title… Bryant fought early foul trouble but still managed a game-high 30 points and Pau Gasol added 17 for the Lakers, who head home down 2-0 in the best-of-seven matchup, with Game Three set for Tuesday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles… Bryant and the Lakers ran into serious foul trouble in the second. Bryant picked up his third personal with 1:53 remaining in the first half, and his backcourt teammate Derek Fisher followed with his third infraction with 23.9 seconds remaining.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Celtics shot 52.9%, the Lakers 49.4%. The Celtics shot an amazing 9-of-14 three-pointers (Pierce 4-of-4, Ray Allen 3-of-6, James Posey 2-of-3), the Lakers a terrific 47.6% (Sasha Vujacic 2-of-3), Jordan Farmar 3-of-4). Huge: The Celtics had 38 free throw attempts (hitting 27), the Lakers just 10 attempts (hitting all 10). Boston dished 31 assists, L.A. 13.

For the Celtics, Pierce (9-of-16) had 28 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists (plus 5 turnovers). Leon Powe (6-of-7, 9-of-13 free throws) had 21 points off the bench. Garnett (7-of-19) had 17 points and 14 rebounds. Ray Allen (6-of-11) scored 17. Rajon Rondo only scored 4 but dished 16 assists (just 2 turnovers) plus 2 steals.

For the Lakers, Bryant (11-of-23) had 30 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals. Pau Gasol (8-of-12) had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Vladimir Radmanovic (5-of-12) had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Lamar Odom (5-of-11) was contained all night and had 10 points, 8 rebounds and not much else. Derek Fisher needed 8 shots for his 9 points and 3 steals. Farmar scored 9. Vujacic scored 8.

The AP reports: Paul Pierce, who as a kid growing up in Los Angeles used to sneak into Lakers games, returned from a knee injury to inspire and lead Boston to an emotional and tense 98-88 victory on Thursday night in Game 1 of these tradition-soaked NBA finals… Kevin Garnett scored 24 points, Pierce finished with 22—11 after going down—and Ray Allen, the third member of Boston’s Big Three, added 19 for the Celtics, who are chasing a 17th NBA championship. The trio was making its first finals appearance, and for a short time it appeared only two of them would finish their long-awaited debut. With 6:49 left in the third quarter, Pierce was deep in the lane when teammate Kendrick Perkins crashed into him from behind, crumpling Boston’s No. 34 to the court. The 10-year veteran, who last summer thought his days with Boston might be nearing an end, had to be carried from the court in extreme pain and was taken to Boston’s locker room in a wheelchair… Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 24 points, but the regular-season MVP was just 9-of-26 from the field as the league’s top defensive team kept close tabs on him. Bryant, attempting to win a fourth NBA title—and first without Shaquille O’Neal—had numerous shots rattle out and spent most of his 42 minutes in the game searching for a rhythm.

Ticker reports: And it was most evident late in the first half, when Bryant – who is known for hoisting up shots in bunches – passed up a wide-open 3-pointer, drew Garnett out to him and dished off to Gasol, who was fouled. The ensuing two free throws gave Los Angeles a 49-44 lead with 1:36 left before halftime, when the Lakers held a 51-46 lead. But Bryant, who scored 24 points on 9-of-26 shooting, was forced to be a one-man show by the Celtics’ defense in the second half. “We got a little stagnant,” Bryant said. “I think our rhythm wasn’t there, wasn’t what we like it to be. Still, we played well enough to almost steal the game – some balls bounced their way tonight. They scrapped and they clawed their way to this victory.” Boston also was buoyed by Allen, who scored 19 points to help his team to its fourth straight Game One victory this postseason.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: Both teams shot around 42%, and both struggled from three-point range, but Boston fared a bit better from outside. The Celtics also hit 28-of-35 free throws, the Lakers 21-of-28. The Celtics won the rebounds category, 46-33. Assists were close. The Celtics committed 7 more turnovers.

For the Celtics, Kevin Garnett (just 9-of-22) had 24 points and 13 rebounds. Paul Pierce (7-of-10, 3 threes) had 22 points and not too much else. Ray Allen on 13 shots had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists (but 4 turnovers). Rajon Rondo had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Off the bench, James Posey and PJ Brown combined for 2-of-10 shooting.

For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant (just 9-of-26) had 24 points, just 3 rebounds, 6 assists but 4 turnovers. Derek Fisher on just 9 shots had 15 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. Pau gasol (6-of-11) had 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Lamar Odom (6-of-11) had 14 points, just 6 rebounds, and little else. No other Lakers were particularly good.

Game 2 is Sunday in Boston. The next three games (if Game 5 happens) are in los Angeles. Games 6 and 7, if they happen, are in Boston.