Boston Draws First Blood
A convincing 98-88 win for Boston against the Los Angeles Lakers, as the first game of the 2008 NBA Finals tipped-off earlier today. Garnett and Bryant both scored 24 points to lead both their teams in scoring, while their teammates got: (Lakers) Fisher -15, Gasol -15, Odom -14, Vujacic -8, Radmanovic -5, Turiaf -5, Farmar -2 ; (Celtics) Pierce -22, Allen -19, Rondo -15, Cassell -8, Powe -4, Posey -3, Brown -2, Perkins -1. The big difference came in the fourth as the league’s best defensive team decided to shut down the Lakers to only 15 points in under 12 minutes of play, outscoring the Lakers by six points that quarter. This fourth quarter rally was helped by one of Boston’s “Big Three” - Paul Pierce, who was carried from the court in extreme pain and was taken to Boston’s locker room in a wheelchair late in the third only to come back with 5:04 remaining in the game to shoot two three pointers in under 22 seconds.
Looks like this is going to be a long series for the Lakers as superstar Kobe Bryant is at it again, dishing out 6 assists but somehow managed to shoot below 35% making only 9 out of 26 attempts including 3 missed three-pointers. One has got to wonder - is this going to be a trend in this series? Because if it is, than the Lakers ought to just hand over the Championship to Boston.
The only reason why the Lakers was still in the game was because of a certain Derek Fisher who gave them the lift when they needed it most finishing with 13 points in the first half giving Los Angeles a 51-46 halftime lead, though his efforts were to fall short as the game entered the second half. Kobe Bryant was nowhere to be found as he seemed to struggle to find his rhythm as Boston’s defense got the best of him in this game 1.
So will the Lakers be able to answer this fourth quarter breakdown leading to Boston taking game 1, or is Boston’s Big Three just too much for any team to handle this season? Either way, it’s up to Lakers’ superstar Kobe Bryant to decide how their team should proceed in game two - will we see the Kobe who started the season with a losing streak trying to carry the full weight of his team, or the Kobe who ended the season with an MVP title in his hands… ? The ball is in your court now Kobe…
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