Big Baby Is Bigger When It Counts

The Boston Celtics had two scenarios to choose from, go down 3-1 or even the series at 2-2. Fortunately for them, their bench showed up big in the 4th quarter en route to a 96-89 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at TD Garden. Glen Davis (18 points on 7-10, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) led the Celtics in the decisive 4th quarter with 9-points while Nate Robinson (12 points on 4-8, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal)
provided 6-points as the Boston bench outplayed the Laker starters to take the lead and the game with a 36-27 pounding in the final period. The Lakers were unable to generate any stops, allowing the Celtics to tie the best-of-seven series at two games apiece. Boston got timely play from their reserves as the Lakers floundered a prime opportunity to put a stranglehold on the series. Kobe Bryant (33 points on 10-22, 6-11 from behind the arc, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 7 turnovers) carried the Laker offense but committed a costly turnover down the stretch that resulted in a Rajon Rondo (10 points on 5-15, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals) steal and layup, extinguishing any hope of a last minute comeback.

Both teams struggled early as neither could find the bottom of the net. Play was ragged on both ends, but Paul Pierce (19 points on 7-12, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal) was aggressive early, taking the ball to the hoop and finishing. Pierce led the Celtics with 10-points in the 1st quarter to go along with 4 rebounds. The score was knotted at 14-14 with 3:35 remaining as the two squads continued to muster little offense. Pau Gasol’s (21 points on 6-13, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots) pair of free throws finally broke the scoring drought with :24 seconds left in the period, but Robinson stepped into a 3-pointer with :03 seconds left for a 19-16 Celtics lead after one.

Shannon Brown (5 points on 2-5 in 11-minutes) and Jordan Farmar (3 points on 1-2, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals in 11-minutes) exchanged baskets with Robinson and Big Baby. Andrew Bynum (2 points on 1-2, 3 rebounds in 12-minutes) was hampered by his injured knee and labored running up and down the court. Phil Jackson replaced Bynum early with Lamar Odom (10 points on 5-10, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal in 39-minutes) but Odom remained passive throughout the first half. Instead of going head-to-head with Garnett, LO was forced to guard Davis and the burly forward was able to take Odom off the dribble and score inside. Davis’ three-point play gave Boston the lead at 27-24 as he seemingly had his way whenever he touched the ball. A 3-minute scoring drought would slow play to an agonizing halt as neither team could gain the clear momentum. But Kobe connected on a 25-foot trey for the 32-29 lead. Pierce countered in the lane but Kobe followed with another 3-pointer for the 35-31 advantage. Odom’s drive pushed the lead up to 39-33 as the Lakers finally looked as if they were gaining confidence and the momentum. But Boston would not go away, getting easy scores from Kevin Garnett (13 points on 5-13, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot) and Kendrick Perkins (6 points on 3-5, 7 rebounds). KG’s turnaround jumper at the horn brought the Celtics to within 45-42 at halftime.

All signs pointed to a Lakers victory as both teams stumbled to the break. They connected on 17-35 for 48.6% from the field compared to only 18-44 for 40.9% for the Celtics. They also enjoyed a 8-10 to 4-8 advantage at the free throw line and trailed the Celtics only 21-20 in the battle for the boards. If only the Lakers could generate an extended run, Boston was ready to flip over and play dead. Rondo was 0-5 on his dribble drives and unable to get the Boston offense running. The Celtics were lucky to be down only 3-points as sloppy play by the Lakers allowed them to stick around. The Lakers on the other hand, appeared to get the looks and the shots they wanted, but missed golden opportunities to go up by more.

Odom replaced Bynum in the starting line-up to start the 3rd period. Bynum remained in the locker room getting extended treatment on his knee in the hope that he could provide some minutes in the second half. A pair of baskets by Derek Fisher (6 points on 3-6, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal) provided the Lakers with a 51-48 lead at the 8:45 mark. But again the Lakers went into a scoring drought that spanned almost 4-minutes as the Celtics crawled back with more scores deep in the paint. The Lakers were clearly missing Bynum’s presence in the middle as Boston started going inside and getting second looks and put-backs. Kobe would connect on three consecutive 3-pointers but that would be all the Lakers could get the rest of the way, leading by a slim 62-60 margin at the end of the third.

Davis picked up where he left off, scoring inside on a variety of nifty moves to the basket. It seemed unfathomable that the 6′7″ Davis could get his shot over the outstretched arms of the 7′0″ Gasol and 6′10″ Odom, but passive defense allowed the emotional reserve to bounce his defenders off of him. Ray Allen (12 points on 4-11, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) finally got a jump shot to go down as he came around a number of screens to elude his defender, giving the Celtics a 68-64 lead. Davis’ 3-point play propelled the Celtics to a 71-64 advantage with 8:22 left in regulation. Odom would get loose for a layup but Tony Allen (3 points on 1-4, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot) would convert his own 3-point play and suddenly Boston’s lead had grown to 74-66 as the TD Garden erupted in the “Beat LA” chant. As Kobe, Odom and Gasol scored, Robinson would account for six of the Celtics next 9-points, spliced with a Rasheed Wallace (3 points on 1-5, 2 rebounds, 1 steal) 3-pointer. Ron Artest (9 points on 4-10, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 blocked shot) would convert a 3-point play with a hard dribble drive along the baseline followed by a pair of Kobe free throws to make it 85-79 with just under 3-minutes to play.

But the Lakers were not able to make any stops down the stretch-run, instead exchanging scores with the Celtics. The Lakers got to within 90-84 after Kobe was fouled on a 3-point attempt, but on their next possession after a Pierce miss, Kobe got caught in the air and tried to fire the ball to the top-of-the-key only to have Rondo pick off the pass for the uncontested layup at the other end. With only :31 seconds left in the game, and the Lakers trailing 92-84, they were forced to fire away from long distance and came up short. Boston out-rebounded the Lakers 41-34 (20-14 in the second half), drubbed them with point-in-the-paint, 54-36, and beat them in fast break points, 15-2. Game 5 is Sunday evening in what amounts to a near, must-win for the Lakers to avoid going down 3-2 before returning home for Games 6, and if necessary, Game 7. Of more importance is the health of Bynum, but with 3 days of rest between games, it is hopeful that he may benefit and recover in time with the longer layoff.