Man Up: Lakers Present Case For The Defense
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It’s bad enough we have to suffer without the TNT crew, but Doris Burke instead of the lovely Lisa Salters on ABC for the NBA Finals? Who goofed?
The tone was set early. Twenty-seven seconds into Game 1 between the Lakers and Celtics, Ron Artest scored a takedown of Paul Pierce. The officials, particularly the infamous Joey Crawford, called the contest like a high school game after that, but it hurt the Celtics most.
With Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol leading the offense and Ron Artest earning his money again on defense, the Lakers opened defense of their NBA championship with a convincing 102-89 victory Thursday night in L.A.
Bryant finished with 30 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists while Gasol dictated inside with 23 points, 14 boards (8 of those were offensive) and 3 blocks. Artest added 15 points, but he was more effective slowing Pierce. Though Pierce finished with 24 points, half of those came on free throws.
“He solidified our defense,” Phil Jackson said of Artest. “He made some big baskets for us too.”
Foul trouble limited Ray Allen, who played only 27 minutes. It hurt the Celtics in a big way since Allen and Pierce are the only consistent outside shooters. Allen missed 5 of his 8 field goal attempts and finished with only 12 points.
The Lakers’ defense also kept a lid on Rajon Rondo, who managed 13 points and 8 assists, but was never a factor in the outcome. He didn’t have the same zip he had against the Magic either, which surely will bring up questions of whether he’s hurting more than he’s led on.
The Lakers outrebounded the Celtics 42-31.
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