Coming live from Staples Center …
by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Hey everyone, Lang and I are here at Game 2 of the NBA Finals, high above the Staples Center court. The game tips off in about ten minutes, and we’ll be live-blogging and tweeting throughout the entire game. Let’s go!
-Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talking about John Wooden at center court. Please insert shivers here.
-Decent job done by Lee DeWyze, of American Idol fame, on the National Anthem. Staples crowd sounds amped.
-Lakers in their Sunday white uniforms. I’m not a big fan of them myself, FWIW.
FIRST QUARTER
-KG gets the game’s first bucket. He didn’t look washed-up or old on that at all. Derek Fisher, another senior citizen, answers. 2-2 tie.
-Fish knocks in a couple of freebies after blowing by Rajon Rondo.
-Incredible pass from Kobe to Bynum down low for the dunk. Lakers are dominating every facet of the game here early. Ron Artest’s free throw makes it 7-2, with 9:46 to go in the first quarter.
-And just like that, the C’s have the lead. Rajon Rondo stretches over Bryant for the pretty finish at the rim. 8-7.
-Andrew Bynum either bought a new knee on eBay today, or he had a great breakfast. He’s looking great here early. Two dunks, and has given LA back the lead.
-Kobe gets his first basket of the game, getting a feed from Gasol on the cut. Celtics hanging tough; game tied thanks to Ray Allen’s incredibly-hot shooting.
-Doc Rivers has put Rasheed Wallace in to guard Pau Gasol. Gasol responds by canning a long jumper. So, yeah, that’s not gonna work out too well for the C’s.
-Lakers dominating on the boards early. But Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen are keeping this thing as close as possible. Lakers up 21-20 with three minutes to go in the first quarter.
-Ron Artest has kept Paul Pierce very quiet tonight so far. The Truth has been less than truthful, going scoreless so far … until Odom sent him to the line for two free throws. Boston has hung tough, and maintains a small lead with just over a minute to go in the first.
-The Laker offense has grinded to a halt, and the Celtics have taken full advantage. Pierce gives the C’s a 26-21 lead with one more freebie.
-Gasol takes the foul from Rasheed — who looks winded, by the way — and makes just one free throw. Wallace responds by making a long baseline jumper. Celtics playing with a sense of desperation, and it shows.
-Great first quarter by Boston, as they withstood the early surge from L.A., and have taken a 7-point lead going into the second. Lakers need to find their offensive rhythm.
-Ray Allen leads the C’s in scoring (10 points); Gasol is the leading scorer for the Lakers (9 points.) 29-22 after 1.
SECOND QUARTER
-One key stat to keep an eye tonight is battle on the boards: Boston with a 13-9 advantage so far.
-Celtics are getting whatever they want offensively, and the Lakers wouldn’t be able to draw a triangle at this point, let alone run it. Lead up to 9 for the C’s now. Timeout called by Paul Pierce, who slipped on the court.
-Jordan Farmar explodes past Paul Pierce for the dunk, but misses an open three. Crowd starting to get into it again.
-Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen have given the Celtics a 10-point lead. The Lakers, meanwhile, are running their offense through Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar. My head hurts.
-And now, Kevin Garnett has picked up his third foul. Ruh-roh.
-Laker misses leading to fast break opportunities. And Ray Allen is shooting like it’s a scene from “He Got Game”. Trouble brewing at Staples…
-Ray Allen is so on fire, I think a crew of firemen just entered the building. Kobe, meanwhile, has been suspiciously quiet so far.
-From Arash Markazi of ESPN: “The Celtics’ back court has 25 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds while the Lakers’ has 6 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds.” Yeah …
-Ray Allen is shooting as though he were in the gym all alone. And given the Lakers’ defensive effort thus far, he may as well be. 45-33, C’s. 5 minutes to go before the half.
-Kobe finally wakes up by making a long jumper. The sound the crowd makes whenever Ray Allen lines up a shot is amazing. A mixture of dread and complete panic.
-Celtics fouls piling up: 3 on Big Baby, 3 on Sheed, 3 on KG. Again, ruh roh.
-Kobe headed to the line after taking a nasty spill on his last drive to the hoop. Timeout first, though.
-Ray Allen has 22 points (which is more than Kobe, Fisher, Gasol and Artest COMBINED), the Celtics are winning the battle on the boards (19-13). There’s your game story thus far.
-Kobe really hounding Ray Allen. Which isn’t making a lick of a difference. Bryant fouls Ray on the catch, and Allen heads to the line. Where he’s of course automatic. Celtic lead back up to 12.
-Kobe then drives a shoulder into Allen — who does an incredible acting job — to get the offensive foul. Crowd booing the refs lustily after that terrible call. The zebras then call the offensive foul on Ray, making the fans here very happy.
-Ray Allen has 27 points so far. Let that sink in for a moment. It hasn’t for me. Yikes.
-Shelden Williams is in the game. He’s playing in the NBA Finals. This can’t be right.
-Ron Artest, after taking horrendous three (Lang yelped “OH GOD! when it went up), comes back and hits a free throw. That’s followed up by a sweet drive by Gasol for the and-1 bucket. Celtics lead 54-45, though.
-Kobe Bryant knocks in a crazy three (off the steal) to beat the halftime buzzer. Celtics lead 54-48 at the half. Time to go find whatever it is that Ray Allen ate this morning.
THIRD QUARTER
-Lakers go inside to start the third quarter, and Perkins picks up his 4th foul, sending Bynum to the line. Ron Artest then hits a big three to trim the lead down to just two. He adds to it by stealing the ball and going the length of the court before getting hacked by Pierce. One-point game.
-Pau Gasol has suddenly given the Lakers a one-point lead. The Celtics need Ray Allen to find his magic touch again.
-KG finds Perk inside for the easy two, and the Boston lead again. That is until Gasol responds with an open baseline j to retake the lead. Great game we’re having here.
-Garnett has picked up his 4th personal foul, and is playing like a man with absolutely no self-confidence. He’s getting abused by both Gasol and Bynum down low. Speaking of Andrew, he hits two freebies to give LA a two-point lead with just over 6 minutes to go in the third.
-Kobe now has 4 fouls as well. Crowd getting a bit anxious, and chanting “bullsh*t!” Okay, then.
-Lots of fouls on both ends, on the big-name stars: Kobe, Garnett, ‘Sheed, Perkins all with 4 fouls.
-Ray Allen, by the way, has yet to score since the second quarter. Paul Pierce is starting to come alive. Celtics down 66-65.
-And just like that, Allen rains in another three-point bomb. He is ON.FIRE. Boomshakalaka, or something. Game tied.
-Ray Allen has broken the NBA Finals record for most threes made in a game. 8 of them so far. 30 points. Simply amazing.
-Big Baby with the big hoop over Gasol for the and-1. He missed the free-throw, though. Gasol responds on the other end by getting a trip to the line, and ties the game at 70 from there. Lots of whistles tonight, just like in the series opener.
-Headed to the fourth quarter, on what has been a great NBA Finals game. Tied at 72. It’ll be interesting to see what both Kobe and Ray have left in the holster in the final period.
FOURTH QUARTER
-Triple double watch: Rajon Rondo is just one point away from notching the triple dip.
-Oh boy, Kobe with 5 fouls. Just 13 points from the mamba man. Celtics up four after a Big Baby dunk.
-Glen Davis does his best Charles Smith impersonation, before Vujacic hits a three. Davis comes right back with a short hook. Bynum responds with a putback dunk off a Kobe miss. Lakers up 80-78.
-Nate friggin Robinson has scored the last two for Boston (a three plus a breakaway layup.) Nate Robinson, playing a pivotal role in June. My head just exploded.
-Ron Artest keeps testing my heart’s strength with his horrible decisions on the offensive end. And for some reason, LA refuses to give Pau Gasol the ball.
-Bynum lays it in for the 85-83 lead, with Kobe on the bench with 5 personals. Andrew having his best game of the Playoffs so far.
-Kobe gets back in and scores on a really tough shot (hanging and getting fouled in the process.) Lakers up 87-85 with just under 6 minutes remaining in the game. Bryant headed to the line.
-Great passing by Boston to find Rondo for a wide open layup. Celtics down just one.
-Kobe is coming alive. The fadeaway over Ray on the baseline gives LA a three-point lead again. Until KG set a terrific screen, freeing up Rondo again. Things back-and-forth. Tension mounting.
-Rajon gives Boston the lead on a left-handed layup, off an offensive rebound. KG then picks up his 5th foul. He looks terrible out there.
-Setting up for a great finish…
-Celtics up 93-90 with just under 2 minutes to go. Laker fans inside Staples are nervous, as they should be. It’s going to come down to who can make the least amount of mistakes here down the stretch.
-Rondo hits an enormous jumper to give Boston a five-point lead, with 1:26 to go. Timeout Celtics. Kobe missed a big pull-up three just before that. High drama in L.A.
-Great play out of the timeout by Boston, getting Perk an open reverse layup. Kobe’s miss at the other end pretty much seals the deal. Kendrick heads to the line after a shove from Gasol, and makes one of two. 98-90 for the C’s.
-After a horrific Ron Artest three point attempt, Kobe hits a straight away three to trim it down to a five-point lead. Ron then fouls out, sending Rondo to the line with 48 seconds to go. He misses one.
-Lakers then commit a costly turnover, and end up sending Rondo to the line again. This is pretty much over. Series is basically going to be tied in a few seconds. Great effort by the Celtics.
-A parade to the free throw line on both ends results in a final score of 103-94 . Behind Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, and Glen Davis, Boston evens up the series.
-Game 3 goes Tuesday night in Boston. Should be a great one. Good night, all.
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