Tears for Pierce and the Celts as they lose bigtime

Pau Gasol rattles off a pass to Shannon Brown and Brown elevates with his face almost in the ring dunks the ball. Paul Pierce drives to the hoop and his dribble was bothered by Sasha Vujacic, he eventually loses the ball and Lamar Odom gives a forward pass to Jordan Farmar who dunks the ball over a trailing Kevin Garnett. Sasha Vujacic sinks a three pointer and so does Ron Artest. Finally the supporting cast that Kobe Bryant was longing for when they were in Boston came alive as the Los Angeles Lakers returned to Hollywood with a morale boosting 89 - 67 win over the Boston Celtics which sets the stage for fourth game 7 battle between these two teams.

Kobe Bryant played his usual role

Reminiscent of game 1, the Celtics were literally outrebounded, outhustled, outworked by the younger Lakers who got a new lease of life. Led by the ever reliable Kobe Bryant, the Lakers played like a well oiled machine and took advantage of the many miscues by the Celtics. The Celtics were playing like kids and never knew what hit them. At one point, the Celtics were missing on point blank range shots with Glen Davis and Ray Allen missing a couple. The 67 points that the Celtics scored was their lowest output in this year’s play offs.

Three Lakers go for the ball

No one would have imagined that the always resilient Celtics would be blown away like this. Imagine Ron Artest who came to LA to provide a defensive presence outscored 2008 Finals MVP Paul Pierce 15 to 13. He was just doing it at both ends of the court. Artest was 3 out of 6 from beyond the arc. Another one providing the needed spark for the Lakers is Lamar Odom who scored 8 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, 2 block shots and one steal. Sasha Vujacic on the other hand rediscovered his shooting touch as he went 2 of 4 from three point range to score 9 points. The big revelation for the Lakers was Pau Gasol who resurfaced with a near triple double by scoring 19 points, 13 rebounds and a career high 9 assists. The Lakers coasted with the win after leading by as much as 27 points. Game 7 is now a reality.

Bynum Squeezed

Let’s give a little history and trivia here. The Celtics are gunning for # 18 while it’s going to be # 16 for the Lakers if ever. Boston lost by twenty points to Cleveland and Orlando and in each of those losses the Celtics rebounded with a big win. Phil Jackson has won 10 NBA Titles but this is the first time he will be coaching a game 7 finals game. The Celtics and Lakers have figured in 11 finals matches with the Celtics winning 9, on the other hand 4 of those went the distance with the Celtics coming out victorious in all four. If the Lakers win it this time this will be the first time the Lakers will win a game 7 against the Celtics. Not even the great Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson won a game 7 against the Celtics. History is on the side of the Celtics but momentum is on the side of the Lakers – the plot thickens. Who will win game 7? Lets get it on guys.

Farmar Hacked