CELTICS VS LAKERS IN FINALS
The 2010 NBA playoffs were coming to a climax with the latter stages of the Conference Finals. Game 1 saw mixed fortunes for the teams with home court advantage. Game 2 saw the winning teams double their money. That was followed with a switch in location for Games 3 and 4 in which the Celtics came out retaining a significant advantage while the Western series evened itself up. Game 5 saw a further switch in locations which allowed the Magic to fight on for another day but they weren't out of the woods yet. Finally came a 4th switch in locations for Game 6 and for both losing teams at this point it was do or die. Time to see who had what it took.
In the East, the Magic faced the Celtics in Boston. The Celtics came out of the blocks hard and fast but the Magic weren't going to lie down just yet and led 12-11 with 6:48 left in the 1st. The Celtics shut them down in the back end of the opener though, building up a double digit lead. The home side didn't slow down in the early stages of the 2nd quarter either, extending their lead to twenty points before the midway point of the quarter. The Magic managed to reign them in late on which suggested some promise for the 2nd half but in the meantime Nate Robinson had grabbed 13 points off the bench and the Celtics were leading 55-42. Once again the Magic had their backs against the wall.
In the early stages of the 3rd quarter the Celtics re-extended their lead to twenty points with no real resistance from the Magic. In the latter stages of the quarter, the road team didn't do much more than tread water and were left looking for a miracle going into the final period. The opening stages of the 4th quarter were low scoring but the Magic were able to nibble into the Celtics' lead. They would still need one hell of a turnaround though. Well they certainly made an effort but it turned out to be way too little way too late. The Celtics won 96-84 with Paul Pierce leading the way on 31 points. The Celtics won the series 4-2 and became the first team to secure a spot in the Finals.
Out West, the Lakers faced the Suns in Phoenix. Well the Suns matched the Lakers early on and then duelled for the lead. They certainly weren't going down without a fight. The duel continued with the Suns leading 29-27 with 3:22 left in the opener but the Lakers put them on ice before the opening buzzer. The early stages of the 2nd quarter were low scoring but the Suns did retake the lead but that duel proved to be a brief one. The last few minutes of the half belonged to the Lakers. Ron Artest was taking care of business with 17 points. The Lakers were leading 65-53 and the Suns had just two quarters worth of basketball to save their season.
Well the Suns didn't look like doing much more than treading water in the early stages of the 3rd though they did cut the gap a little bit. They were able to build on that in the latter stages of the period, cutting the gap further but going into the final period, the Lakers looked to have tamed them once again. The Suns had another effort at a comeback early on in the 4th, cutting the gap seriously to set things up for a tasty last few minutes. The gap was down to three with just over two minutes left. Yet by the time the dust had settled one man had still come through for his team. His name was Kobe Bryant and he finished the game with 37 points. The Lakers won the game 111-103 and the series 4-2. They'll face the Celtics in the NBA Finals.