Celtics win at Staples

Playing like the messiah, Boston Celtic's Ray Allen led is team to then promised land as he reprised his role in the 1998 movie "He got game!" Allen played the role of Jesus Shuttlesworth in that movie, the most sought after High School player. This time in the 2010 NBA finals, he is the most hated person in Los Angeles as he led the Celtics to a 103 - 94 win over the defending champion Lakers. This was the first time the Lakers lost at the Staples Center and is in danger of not going back at the famed gymnasium.

Ray Allen sank 8 three pointers - an NBA Finals record

After looking at how the Celtics won, it was an effort all together by the whole team as Ray Allen took the lead in the first half, Paul Pierce pitched in his share of ten points while Kendrick Perkins added 12 points inside. The reserves did a nice role as Glen Davis added 8 points while Rasheed Wallace and Nate Robinson each had 7 points each. This bench production more than made up for the off night of Kevin Garnett who was in foul trouble most of the night as he took only 5 shots for 6 points but also chipped in 6 assists. The big story for Boston besides Ray Allen was the rejuvenated Rajon Rondo who woke up from his nightmarish Game 1 experience to bounce back with a triple double! Now that is a great statement to his detractors.

Pau Gasol had another monster game

Pau Gasol was again an immovable force inside as he torched the Celtics with 25 huge points as the Lakers relied on the big guys with Andrew Bynum chipping in 21 points to compliment his game 1 good game. It clearly showed that the LA big men were outclassing their Eastern counterparts as Gasol and Bynum outscored Garnett, Perkins, Pierce and Wallace combined. It just shows that there is a gaping hole in the middle of the Celtics defense. On the other hand, the Celtics were lucky that Kobe Bryant had a miserable shooting night as he scored 21 points on 8 of 20 shooting. It was bound to happen and unluckily it happened at the Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant was human after all

The defense by the Celtics forced the other Lakers to ease out of their comfort zones. In game 1, Lamar Odom, Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar and Ron Artest combined for 39 Laker points and all them faltered as they could only contribute 24 points, a far cry from their game 1 confidence building win. In the first half it was all about Ray Allen as he sank a record tying 7 three pointers ad he went 7 for 7 before missing his first three pointer. That clutch shooting gave the Celtics a 14 point lead as they were unable to find an answer to the impeccable shooting display of Allen who has torched the Lakers since the 2008 series. Ray needed just a little ray of light for him to set his jumper as he nailed his 8th triple in the second half that gave him the record of the most three points made in an NBA finals, he finished the game with 32 points.

A rejuvenated Rajon

During the third quarter, the Lakers were able to gain ground and equalize as their vaunted inside game came to play. At the start of the fourth quarter the Celtics needed another spark as Allen began to tire and Rondo was sent to the bench to rest. In came Nate Robinson who was 2 for 2 on the field and 2 for 2 on the line as he scored 7 points in six minutes. That lift helped the Celtics stem the tide enroute to the endgame heroics of Rondo who got four offensive rebounds and scored 8 of the team's final 10 points. Rondo finished the game with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists - his second triple double in the post season. As they say, an NBA series gets all the more exciting when a team wins on the road, lets see what happens when the series shifts to the East. See you in Game 3!