The AP reports: With Russell and Havlicek sitting courtside, and Red surely
lighting up a victory cigar somewhere, these Boston Celtics returned to glory
like the great teams before them. Dominant in every way. On a new parquet floor
below aging championship banners hung in the rafters two decades back, the
Celtics won their 17th NBA title and a first one—at last — for Paul Pierce,
Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen—their Big Three for a new generation. After 22
long years, the NBA has gone green. Lifted by ear-splitting chants of “Beat
L.A.” early and cries of “Seven-teen” in the closing seconds by their
adoring crowd, the Celtics concluded a shocking rebound of a season with a
stunning 131-92 blowout over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 on Tuesday
night… Garnett scored 26 points with 14 rebounds, Allen scored 26 and
Pierce, the finals MVP who shook off a sprained right knee sustained in Game 1,
added 17 as the Celtics, a 24-win team a year ago, wrapped up their first title
since 1986. Rajon Rondo had 21 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and six
steals as the Celtics, who built a 23-point halftime lead and obliterated the
Lakers, who were trying to become the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in
the finals… Bryant, the regular season MVP, finished with 22 points on
7-of-22 shooting… With Garnett scoring 17 points and Pierce adding 10,
Boston built a 58-35 halftime lead, and unlike Game 2 when they let the Lakers
trim a 24-point lead to two in the fourth quarter before recovering, the Celtics
never stopped.
Ticker reports: Holding a four-point lead after the first quarter, the Celtics
embarrassed the Lakers, outscoring their archrivals, 34-15, in the second period
en route to a 58-35 lead at halftime. The half ended with a bang thanks to
Garnett, who completed a three-point play by banking in a circus shot while
parallel to the floor - practically on his back - to highlight a 26-6 run to
close the opening half. And that’s where Los Angeles spent most of the
night - belly up. The Lakers shot just 27 percent in the first half and failed
to grab a single offensive rebound during that span. Not only did they fail to
execute, but their spirit seemed irrevocably broken. “The last two minutes
of the second period buried the team emotionally, and we went into the locker
room at halftime and tried to get our guys back on bearing and really
couldn’t turn the momentum around,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
League MVP Kobe Bryant, who completed a lackluster series, scored just 22 points
on 7-of-22 shooting for Los Angeles, which was outscored, 73-57, in the second
half with the game already decided.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Celtics shot 49.4%, the Lakers 42.2%. But the
Celtics took 87 shots, the Lakers just 64. Boston hit an awesome 13-of-26
threes, Los Angeles a good 10-of-27. Both teams shot almost the same free throw
attempts but Boston hit a few more. The Celtics dominated rebounds, 48-29, and
dominated assists, 33-16. And the Lakers had 19 turnovers, the Celtics just 7.
For the Celtics: Kevin Garnett (10-of-18) had 26 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists
and 3 steals. Ray Allen (8-of-12, 7-of-9 threes) had 26 points, 4 rebounds and 3
steals. Rajon Rondo (8-of-20) had 21 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 6 steals.
Paul Pierce (just 4-of-13) had 17 points, 10 assists and 2 steals. The Celtics
bench was incredible, scoring 39.
For the Lakers: Kobe Bryant (awful 7-of-22) had 22 points and more turnovers
than anything else. Lamar Odom (awful 2-of-8, 10-of-14 free throws) had 14
points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Jordan Farmar (3-of-5, 3-of-4 threes) had 12
points but 4 turnovers off the bench. Pau Gasol (4-of-7) had 11 points, 8
rebounds, and 5 turnovers. No other Lakers did much of anything.
: See raw, totally unedited game notes taken live as the action happened.