Celtics stun Lakers after huge comeback
June 13, 2008
The Boston Celtics have moved to within one win from taking 2008 NBA title. The win against the Lakers was more impressive as the Celtics were at one stage down by 24 points. The loss for the Lakers was the first at home in the 2008 playoffs.
With 6:45 left in the second quarter the Celtics trailed by 24 points. At halftime they still had 18 points to make up just to pull level with the Lakers.
The match started well for the home side. Fans would have been thinking the game was in the bag after a 35-14 opening quarter in which the home team could do no wrong. It was Lamar Odom who came out firing for the Lakers when he scored 13 points in the first quarter.
The key point for the Celtics was that they had plenty of time to chip away at the Lakers lead. This is exactly what they did. After being down by such a huge margin in the second quarter the Celtics had got to within 2 points going into the fourth quarter.
For Boston there was no one player that stood out. It was a good team effort that helped them get back into the match. It was much the same for the Lakers as the scoring was well spread through the team. The problem was that Kobe Bryant would normally lead the scoring by a wide margin and today he did not deliver scoring just 17 for the match. This came from 6 of 19 shooting. His inaccuracy lead to the downfall of the Lakers. At the start of the final quarter Bryant had scored only 7 points. Bryant has been averaging over 30 points a game throughout the playoffs.
The match was up for grabs with 1:30 left on the clock as the Celtics held a 2 point lead with the scores 89-87. From there it was a Posey 3 point shot that stretched the lead to 5. The Lakers hit back with a 2 point bucket to Fisher. With the match in the balance it was the pressure free throw shooting of Paul Pierce that edged Boston clear.
A Gasol dunk made the score 94-91 in favour of Boston. On the next play the Celtics worked down the clock and Ray Allen ended the play with a layup to once again take the lead to 5. So that was where it ended and we saw Boston complete one of the greatest comebacks in NBA finals history.
Game 5 will also be played in Los Angeles. Can the Celtics claim their first NBA crown since the mid eighties or will the Lakers take the series back to Boston?
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