CELTICS HALFWAY TO HISTORY

 

(Image taken from NBA.com)

Well, what can I say? The 2008 NBA Finals are on! It's that time of year. Two teams and a Larry O'Brien trophy that can't be split it two. This year it's particularly special, particularly for anyone who can't really remember the 1980s. The Celtics and Lakers are in the Finals. It's a matchup I never expected to see without the aid of a time machine! As a result the Celtics fans were just happy that the Finals were back in their city but now the "Green Machine" had to do the business on court. Starting on their home turf, in Boston. Two wins here for the Celtics would be a very good start but as the Lakers found out in '04 against the Pistons. Lose Game 1 in these circumstances and there's no way back.

The first quarter of Game 1 proved to be tight. Both sides looked nervey and it didn't help that their main main was off form. The relative nobodies on the back up crew looked to be taking care of business well enough though but the Celtics still had the edge and led 23-21 at the first buzzer. The Lakers were still relying on their back up crew in the second quarter but the Celtics were coming up short as a whole. As a result, though the Green machine certainly had moments where they showed why they got this far, the Lakers looked by far the better team. Derek Fisher, veteran of the '00-'02 Lakers threepeat, led the way with 13 points. Lakers led 51-46 and Celtics coach Doc Rivers had a lot of work to do!

That 51-46 Lakers lead though was history less than a minute into the third quarter. The Celtics came out all guns blazing and just when it looked as though their resurgence would be flat tyred by injury, they were back to full strength before the quarter was out and picking up where they left off, taking no prisoners whatsoever that quarter. There was no way back for the Lakers in the fourth, the Celtics just kept hitting buckets and extending their lead. Job done for Doc Rivers crew and a new generation of Celtics fans were able to say "I was there". They saw Kevin Garnett do the business by coming up with 24 points and the Celtics win the game 98-88.

The Lakers could still turn the series round in Game 2 round and the first quarter was suitably tight. Neither side was willing to give anything in the early stages but the Lakers went on to grab an edge and though the Celtics retook the lead with just over a minute left in the quarter, a Lakers three pointer gave them a 22--20 lead at the buzzer. That was very little insurance against a killer 2nd quarter from the Celtics. The Greens turned the game round with no resistance and built up a double digit lead by mid quarter. The Lakers had no answer before half time. Paul Pierce led the way with 16 points and the Celtcs led 54-42 at half time.

The Celtics just kept on mowing the Lakers down through the third quarter, and there was nothing the Western Conference champions could do about it. The home side was just full of fire and the game was seemingly out of reach by the end of the third. Early in the fourth quarter it looked as though the best the Lakers would be able to do is keep things ticking over and after a while it looked as though they weren't going to be able to even do that. In the last minutes though Phil Jackson's team attempted the impossible and made a serious go at turning the game tround. They managed to cut the deficit down to four but unfortunately for them they don't have Ethan Hunt of their roster. Pierce finished on 28 points backed up by Leon Powe who got his own share of the limelight with 21. Celtics won 108-102.

So far so good for the Green Machine. Now we head to LA though.

Click here to visit the Basketball archive

Comments go here

Click here to return to sports homepage

Click here to return to Matt G's homepage