Lakers Kick Dirt in the Face of Knocked Down Celtics

LAKERS 90   CELTICS 89

The Celtics came out in the start of this game and laid an egg. The Lakers jumped on them from the very beginning. At that point, I thought, “What the heck happened to this being a must win game”? Well it wasn’t helped by the fact that Paul Pierce picked up 2 quick fouls, one of which was a weak call that strung together a stretch of terrible calls on both sides. In a game in which the two teams dont like each other, you cant help but (as a fan) hope that the refs will call the game loosely. Atleast call the game loosely within reason. Allow for a little bumping on the dribble or off the ball, but obviously not on a shot. Well that couldn’t happen in this evenings game as Pierce had to sit out the entire first quarter. It just so happens the Lakers finished the quarter up 30-19.

Now the second quarter, that was a different story. That was Celtics basketball at its best. Rajon Rondo was doing everything in his power to lead this team back ahead, and he did just that. Him, along with the great effort put forth by Tony Allen sparked the Celtics charge. Their energy became contagious as the entire team, and the crowd began to gain confidence in what they were doing. Paul Pierce reentered the game and kept knocking down big 3 after big 3, until eventually the Celtics pushed forth for a 10 point lead, that was slightly cut into, as the C’s went into the half up 5, but having a new kick to their step.

In the third the team did not come out and play with the flow they did in the second quarter, but still played well enough to get the job done. Both teams seemed to settle in on defense, and scoring became a big struggle. For the most part of the third quarter the game was played in the half court. This worried me a little as slowly but surely the game turned into one on one matchups. As we all know, the C’s are not a great one on one team, and no longer really have the player to stare the opponent in the eye and take them to the rim. When they made their run in the 2nd, they were playing great team ball, and almost passing too much. Still, the Celtics won the low scoring third quarter 21-19.

I don’t know how, because it really didn’t feel like the Lakers were sneaking back in, but as the 4th quarter went along it got down to a 1 point lead late. The game ended 90-89 after Ray Allen could not find the range and missed a three at the buzzer. In what has been our best option for buzzer beaters, Ray had a hand in his face and didn’t make the shot. Atleast at the end of the night we can say we had our best opportunity to win in the closing seconds, but didn’t have the luck, or skill to have the ball go in. The C’s have no time to sit and cry about this loss, though, as tomorrow night they will play the Washington Wizards on the road. The Wizards have won 2 in a row and are beginning to play better basketball, so the Celtics can’t sleep on them or they will find themselves losing their 4th game in a row.

(Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)