Boston’s Bench Comes up Big Again

Celtics hold off Lakers and take 2-0 lead in Finals

June 8 – As game 2 of the NBA finals took place on Sunday night, both the Celtics and Lakers came out functioning on all cylinders. Both teams traded first quarter punches throughout the first half, and it seemed early on that fans were going to get a tight game. The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (30 pts, 4 rebs, 8 asts) came out shooting and seemed as if he were on a mission to take game 2 all by himself. The Lakers made some early shots and played the boards fairly well; however, the Celtics were able to stay in the first quarter by causing Laker turnovers. Important Laker contributors, Derek Fisher, Vladimir Radmanovic, and ( Kobe) Bryant entered into early foul trouble, appearing to give Boston the momentum in the second and third quarters.

Boston’s “Big Three”, particularly Paul Pierce (28 pts, 8 asts) led the surge against the Lakers in the second quarter. Ray Allen also hit key jumpers in the first half that allowed the Celtics to stay with Bryant and the Lakers. However, after the first quarter, the Lakers looked very lackluster and seemed to even lack energy throughout the rest of the game, with the exception of the last 7 minutes of the fourth quarter. In fact, the Celtics dominated most of the game, proving just how outstanding they are at home.

In the second half, Boston continued to carry the momentum as they annoyed Kobe Bryant with suffocating defense. Boston’s Ray Allen, covered Bryant about as well as any one person could, and received double and even triple coverage from teammates when needed. Furthermore, the Celtics help defense recovered consistently well after rotating to Bryant and forcing him to make jump shots. Such an approach on guarding Kobe has worked relatively well for the Celtics, which has disrupted the Lakers overall rhythm

Laker coach Phil Jackson commented after the game that he was rather disappointed in the number of foul shots their team had taken versus how many foul shots Celtic forward Leon Powe had by himself. The rather sarcastically comedic Jackson may have been referring to how obviously one-sided the referees called the game. Still, Celtic reserve Powe, had a phenomenal second half off the bench – scoring 21 points in 15 minutes. During this time, the Lakers appeared to be napping, while the Celtics ran up the score and making Powe look like an all-star. One must also wonder where in the world Lakers forward, Lamar Odom, has been hiding. Prior to the series ABC commentators were praising Odom’s talent and giving the impression that Boston would not be able to handle him. The fact that Odom has looked dazed and confused and the L.A. bench has played rather poorly should cause the Lakers to take a deep look as they head back to Los Angeles for game 3 on Tuesday night.

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Meanwhile, the Celtics are up 2-0 and have gotten all-star performances, particularly from Pierce and Garnet. KG added yet another tipple-double on Sunday, scoring 17 points and bringing down 14 rebounds. Point guard, Rajon Rondo also added an impressive 16 assists in the Celtic victory. And despite nearly blowing their entire lead in the 4th quarter, the Celtics’ Paul Pierce rose to the occasion by hitting two huge free throws and blocking a three pointer by Lakers’ guard Sasha Vujacic. Celtic coach, Doc Rivers, noted that their team had gotten “cute” at the end, which allowed the Lakers to get back into the game. Whatever the reason for the Lakers late comeback in game 2, Boston clearly has to improve in closing out their opponents; something they must be able to do if they want to win a championship.

by Tim Wilson
ProBasketball-fans.com Staff Writer

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