Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff
Final Score
Celtics 97
Lakers 91
WOW! Talk about driving a stake through the opposition's heart!
What a game! What a comeback! What a night for the Boston Celtics, coming back from 24-points down, on the road, against the best of the West. Total team effort, as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were immense (did you realize Jesus Shuttlesworth played the entire game?). Kevin Garnett was steady, if not spectacular. Doc Rivers made the right adjustment, going with a small lineup to fuel the comeback. And what can you say about James Posey, except what my cousin Yianni says..."He does EVERYTHING right!"
For all intents and purposes, the NBA Finals are over. Whether the C's close it out Sunday in Los Angeles or next Tuesday in Boston, it's time to start embroidering banner #17. Just one short year after one of the lowest points in franchise history, the Boston Celtics are about to become NBA Champions once again.
Pinch me to make sure this is all really happening!!!
If you'll look back you'll see that I've picked all of the games correctly so far as I said Celts would win in games 1,2, and 4. I really think a win in game 5 on Father's Day would be a nice present for all of the Celtic fan dads out there, so why not even though I said it would go 6 initially and it *would* be nice to win it in Boston...
What a great comeback (and what a great el-foldo by LA which is almost as good as Red Sox/Yankees in the 2004 ALCS!!) Seriously- the last quarter or so you could see that NO ONE in a yellow jersey wanted the ball and, if they got it, were afraid to try to do anything with it (of course Kobe was still jacking up shots when he was able...) Odom went from looking all-world in the first quarter to a complete disappearing act in the 2nd half...
Totally agreed on Posey. I wasn't sure about his signing but if all he had done all year was hit those 3's at the end of this game (and I know he's done a lot more than that) he's well worth it. Great to see Ray Allen play very well yet again. That drive to the hole at the end of the game looked like Moses parting the Red Sea- except it was yellow this time.
I'll reserve my praises till the series is over, but I got to give Doc credit for actually coaching the team back.
Can we put to rest the Jordan/Kobe comparisons?
Jordan doesn't lose a 24 point lead. PERIOD. CASE CLOSED.
Yes LK, I think it's safe to put that argument back where it belongs. And I also think it's safe to say LeBron is now the best player in the NBA, better than Kobe, based on what we've seen in the playoffs.
Also makes you wonder how many of the Bulls' championships were related to Jackson's coaching genius and how much the success was related to Jordan and his comrades??
Kobe's lost an awful lot of his luster in this series- between yelling at his teammates just about every timeout, whining to the refs at every possible moment, and shooting a Shaq-ian percentage from the foul line... Take away game 3 and he's been an average player at best (just like the rest of the Lakers). MVP??? Puh-lease. Chris Paul ought to be making a tape of Kobe's finals performance to submit along with his highlights next year at voting time...
I wonder which of the "celebs" are going to bother to show up for game 5??? They may all sell their tickets on ebay to Celtics' fans!