Celtics Win Game 2 Behind Allen and Rondo
Monday 07 June, 2010 at 12:03 am Featured, NBA 2
Doc Rivers has stumbled upon a gold mine named Rajon Rondo.
The Lakers claim to have the best closer in the NBA. But Rajon Rondo made the plays late in Game 2 of the NBA Finals to refute that claim.
Rondo added to his playoff resume with strong defensive plays - a blocked shot on Derek Fisher and a strip of Kobe Bryant – that sealed the Boston Celtics’ 103-94 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Celtics ended the game brilliantly. Over the last four and a half minutes of Game 2, the Boston Celtics outscored the Los Angeles Lakers 16-4.
Boston led comfortably in the second quarter, when sharpshooter Ray Allen was in the midst of an unyielding barrage of treys that gave the visiting team some serious swagger. Allen broke the Finals record for three-pointers made in a game, canning eight bombs from behind the arc.
The Lakers worked their way back into the game, and held the lead briefly in the third quarter. But Boston kept their focus and heightened the defensive intensity, enabling them to overcome some mediocre offense in the second half. In the end, their defense carried them to the win, even up the series at one game apiece.
What did their job? Who didn’t?
Let’s take a look at the guy who were the difference makers in tonight’s contest:
Boston Celtics:
Allen set the NBA Finals single-game record with eight three-pointers made.
Ray Allen: “Jesus Shuttleworth” came up big – particularly in the first half – against L.A. Allen, universally regarded as the best pure shooter in the league, came out on fire in this one. He hit seven first-half triples (eight total) to lead the game in scoring with 32 points. Ray connected on eight of his eleven three point attempts, and extinguished any doubt as to his ability to bounce back from his troubled performance in Game 1.
Rajon Rondo: The former Kentucky Wildcat showed everyone what we have been accustomed to seeing from him in the playoffs. Rondo delivered his all-around game tonight, finishing with a triple-double (19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists). The 6’3″ guard dominated in the fourth period, controlling the game by grabbing offensive rebounds (he had four in the game), scoring and making timely defensive plays. Tonight’s outcome proves that Boston needs a big-time performance from Rondo in order to win against L.A.
Nate Robinson: When Rondo goes to the bench, Doc Rivers has a natural right to be nervous. The truth is the he hasn’t known if or how his offense would be initiated. He also couldn’t count on it being effective or fluent. On a two different occasions in the last two playoff rounds, Nate Robinson has come off the bench to spark the Celtics. He did it again tonight, putting up seven points (2-2 FG, 1-1 3′s, 2-2 FT) in six minutes. Robinson’s production was great, and his control was even greater.
Los Angeles Lakers:
Laker Guards: Collectively, they allowed the league’s best shooter to hit several open looks from three-point land. To make matters worse, the culprits (Kobe Bryant, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Shannon Brown and Derek Fisher) combined to barely outscored Allen, 39-32.
Kobe Bryant didn't have an effective night against Boston on Sunday night.
“Home-Court” Officiating? – NOT: Lamar Odom (3 points in 14 minutes), Andrew Bynum (21 points, 7 blocks) and Kobe Bryant (21 points, 8-20 FG) all ended the contest with 5 fouls. Ron Artest (6 points, 1-10 FG) fouled out late in Game 2. The Lakers were held hostage by the officials’ whistles, and it affected their offensive rhythm. Foul trouble adversely affected the effectiveness of Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, and Ron Artest – all key contributors that Los Angeles needs if they want to win.
Kobe Bryant: Bryant is a leader. He likes to lead by example. There are times that he wants to play defense with the same intensity that he plays offense. There are times that he should think twice about that. The Lakers don’t need Bryant picking up fouls guarding Ray Allen 6 feet beyond the three-point line. Such a decision is what cost Bryant valuable floor time, and kept him from displaying his usual level of effectiveness. The Lakers need Bryant to score 30 to keep him able to be comfortably entrenched in the L.A. offensive flow. Then he would be ready to take over late in the game.
Ron Artest: Another hero from Game 1, Artest struggled mightily in Game 2. His offensive game was putrid tonight, making 1-10 shots and fouling out late in the game. Artest readily refers to himself as a former scorer. A 1-10 display makes me think otherwise. He’ll have to focus on the road in Boston for Game 3.
T Lamont is the owner, administrator and author of all content for Ball or Nuthin\'. Feel free to contact T Lamont with a question or comment at ballornuthin@gmail.com. All created Ball or Nuthin' content is the sole property of T Lamont. Read more from this authorTags: Celtics, Kobe Bryant, Lakers, NBA Finals, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Ron Artest
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T Lamont, A lot of people in LA may have seen it like you, but what the rest of the country saw was that the Lakers were, for the most part, getting the benefit of “Home-Court Officiating". If you don't count the 8 foul shots due to intentional fouls at the end of the game, the final tally would have been 41 free throw attempts by the Lakers and 18 free throw attempts by the Celtics — which would have been a new record for the most lopsided FTA differential in NBA Finals history.
Pierce's clean block on Artest called a foul. Davis's clean block on Bynum called a foul. Every time the Lakers missed a shot in the paint, a foul call was automatic. Meanwhile, the Celtics weren't getting any calls in the paint — to the point where it allowed Bynum/Gasol to set a new record for blocked shots. Davis got hammered in the lane multiple times, no calls.
When the games are played in Boston, the calls will probably be more even. This will probably mean double-digit wins for the Celtics.
Officiating aside, even though I will have to agree with Glenn20, the problem the Lakers have is inconsistencies with the play of their supporting cast. I agree with T Lamont that Kobe has to score in the 30's for LA to have a chance in this series but he is gonna need consistent good play from 2 maybe 3 other players. Boston has such a variety of talent, that they can get away with 1 or 2 their stars having an off night (Pierce & Garnett game 2) because someone else steps up to take up the slack. Especially in the critical time of the game. For LA, if Bryant is having an off night, the Lakers seem lost in those critical moments.
I think LA needed to take both games at home in order for them to win this series. I'm not saying they won't win but the pressure is on going back to Boston for 3 games.
2 comments
T Lamont, A lot of people in LA may have seen it like you, but what the rest of the country saw was that the Lakers were, for the most part, getting the benefit of “Home-Court Officiating". If you don't count the 8 foul shots due to intentional fouls at the end of the game, the final tally would have been 41 free throw attempts by the Lakers and 18 free throw attempts by the Celtics — which would have been a new record for the most lopsided FTA differential in NBA Finals history.
Pierce's clean block on Artest called a foul. Davis's clean block on Bynum called a foul. Every time the Lakers missed a shot in the paint, a foul call was automatic. Meanwhile, the Celtics weren't getting any calls in the paint — to the point where it allowed Bynum/Gasol to set a new record for blocked shots. Davis got hammered in the lane multiple times, no calls.
When the games are played in Boston, the calls will probably be more even. This will probably mean double-digit wins for the Celtics.
Officiating aside, even though I will have to agree with Glenn20, the problem the Lakers have is inconsistencies with the play of their supporting cast. I agree with T Lamont that Kobe has to score in the 30's for LA to have a chance in this series but he is gonna need consistent good play from 2 maybe 3 other players. Boston has such a variety of talent, that they can get away with 1 or 2 their stars having an off night (Pierce & Garnett game 2) because someone else steps up to take up the slack. Especially in the critical time of the game. For LA, if Bryant is having an off night, the Lakers seem lost in those critical moments.
I think LA needed to take both games at home in order for them to win this series. I'm not saying they won't win but the pressure is on going back to Boston for 3 games.
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