CELTICS, LAKERS, HALFWAY TO FINALS

 

 

The 2010 NBA playoffs were well into their latter stages with the start of the Conference Finals. Game 1 proved to be an interesting affair, particularly given the jawdropping result in the East, still, that's the playoffs for you. However even though two teams now had an edge, Game 2 was going to prove just as crucial. In the East it was a chance for the Celtics to effectively kill the series off early on, humiliating another of the conference favourites in the process. In the West well just like in any series the team with home court advantage wasn't out of the woods yet, Game 2 still had to be won if they wanted to maintain a strong position in the series.

In the East, the Magic faced the Celtics in Orlando. Well coming off the back of their shock win the Celtics looked like they'd be picking up where they left off early on. However the Magic got their act together that much earlier this time around and led the game 28-27 at the end of the 1st quarter. The sides briefly duelled early in the 2nd quarter only for the Celtics to seemingly come out on top once more to leave the Magic humiliated. The home side weren't willing to lie down though and got back into the game late in the half. This time around though the Celtics had a response and led the match 53-51 at half time with Paul Pierce on 22 points.

The two sides again duelled early in the 3rd quarter with the Magic taking a 59-57 lead with 9:43 left in the period before the Celtics went on another hot run. That run saw their lead hit double figures briefly before the Magic reigned them in. The homeside were left with a lot to do. They early stages of the 4th quarter saw them get down to business to at least get into a position for the final minutes to become a duel to the finish. When the duel came it proved only to be a brief one though and bad Magic strategy denied them a chance to hit a decent buzzer beater. When the dust settled, Pierce had grabbed 28 points, backed up by Rajon Rondo with 25. Celtics won 95-92.

Out West, the Lakers faced the Suns in LA. Well it looked like becoming a Lakers show early on but the Suns came back to lead 13-11 with 7:34 left in the 1st but the Lakers then turned things round again. The home side were then able to take over before the end of the opener. The early stages of the 2nd quarter saw the Suns bite into that gap but as soon as they got close the Lakers were able to find an answer and the road team was back to square one. For the latter stages of the half, the Suns were treading water at best. Ron Artest was taking care of business to the tune of 15 points. The Lakers were leading 65-56 in their highest scoring half in the playoffs so far.

Well the Suns certainly made an effort early in the 3rd and managed to stop the Lakers from running away with the game for the time being. They continued nibbling into the gap as the quarter wore on and eventually managed to tie the game at 90 by the time the third buzzer went. In theory it was anyone's game going into the 4th quarter but the Lakers had other ideas and built up a double digit lead, pushing the Suns to the brink. The road team never really looked like coming back from there and the Lakers were able to cruise to another win. Pau Gasol led the scoring on 29 points with the Lakers grabbing a 124-112 win - mission accomplished for now.

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