The Post Up: Lakers and Celtics Roll… Again

Detroit's D?

by Holly MacKenzie

So, last night was one of those unbelievably frustrating nights when it comes to basketball. I did not get to watch either game. Yes. I know. This damn TSN2 crap again. We really need to get this sorted because I am missing my Thursday night, “NBA on TNT” routine.

I’ve got some recaps below, but you know, be patient with me, since I didn’t see ANY of the game.

I did see the Pistons/Celtics highlights. Wow. I claim the Pistons as my pick for the East and then the Celtics go out and rip them. Again. Boston is going to be very, very tough, but especially so at home. If anyone wants to get out of the East, their best bet is going to be having homecourt, because KG and crew are ridiculously good at home.

The Lakers won and won big against the Suns. I see the final score isn’t that huge of a margin, but the livestats were showing them up a lot in the fourth. I thought LA would win, but I really expected a much more competitive contest.

Last night did not involve any basketball, but it was still fun. Chris O’Leary is in town for the weekend (and Marcel is coming through on Saturday), so it was good to have some extra SLAM here in Toronto. Our plan was for basketball, but you know, there wasn’t any on, so drinks and nachos became the next best thing.

Of course, while sitting down, we noticed Pistons/Celtics highlights and then thought our eyes were deceiving us when the score appeared. Man. I just realized how much I want the Pistons to take the East when I saw the score last night and felt really frustrated.

Tonight is the return of Vince Carter to the Air Canada Centre, so that should be great. I’m looking forward to shootaround this morning. I’ve heard it’ll be a media circus from one of the beat writers, so that’s always fun.

KG back in Minnesota tonight, as well. That will be huge, too. Looking forward to watching the reaction he gets.

One more personal note: Tomorrow is the Vanier Cup Championship game for university football and I’m sending lots of love to one of my favorite boys.

Also: I love Magic Johnson in his pinstripe suit and purple tie. Saw that in the highlights.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. See you Monday at 9.

Boston 98 Detroit 80

While the Pistons had the excuse of Allen Iverson’s first home game to explain their last blowout loss to the Celtics, they didn’t have that last night as Boston took the game, 98-80. While the Pistons led by as many as 11 early in the first quarter, the two teams were tied at 21 at the end of the first and the Celtics used strong second and third quarters to bury Detroit. With the Pistons managing only 36 points in those two quarters combined, the Celtics poured in 56 as they went ahead by as many as 29 in the second half. Rajon Rondo ran circles around the Pistons as he finished with 18 points and 8 assists. Tony Allen scored 13 points and Kevin Garnett added 15. Iverson led the way for the Pistons with 16 points as Rasheed Wallace scored 13 and Rip Hamilton added 12 in the loss.

LA Lakers 105 Phoenix 92

This is one of those games where the final score does not tell the tale. With the Lakers leading by as many as 18 points in the game, they cruised to victory over the Suns, with Phoenix only making up ground in the final minutes when the game was already out of reach.While Kobe Bryant shot only 8-23 from the floor, the Lakers were able to overcome his shooting woes as they had a 43-point effort from their bench. While the game started out tight, with LA up only two at the end of one, the Suns were unable to match the pace and efficiency of the Lakers offense and slowly LA pulled away. Despite the shooting percentage, Bryant still finished with 24 points while Vladamir Radmanovich added 15 and Lamar Odom scored 13 points and pulled down 9 rebounds. Amare Stoudemire led the suns with 21 points while Shaquille O’Neal added 15 points and 9 rebounds and Steve Nash dished 10 assists to go with 8 points in the loss.