The Celtics overcome a late Lakers rally, go up 2-0 in the NBA Finals.
I was somewhere in my head, dreaming, when I felt something. It was my phone, vibrating. I took the phone, read the messages, and then hung like a Pentium 1 trying to run Quake 3.
"Oh, shit."
Celtics-Lakers, Celtics-Lakers, Celtics-Lakers. With hopes of seeing at least the second half action, I quickly sprung out of my bed, plugged the cable box, clicked 6-2 in its analog, and then turned the TV on.
To my dismay, the fourth quarter was about to start. Won't be able to turn back time, so pwede na din.
The Celtics were up twenty. Gasol, Odom, Garnett, and Pierce were on the bench.
With only Kobe and Allen on the floor, this Game 2 of a star-studded Finals match-up seemed over. Leon Powe was having the game of his life, while the Lakers reserves were having the exact opposite. Dunks, free throws, lucky shots, it was all Boston. Time and time the Lakers would score, but the Celtics would come back. It was that kind of game. Garbaage time. Pretty much the type of late games the Sonics and the Heat play. Well, not quite.
Kobe was still on the game. And though the Celtics were blowing the game wide open, you couldn't help but feel that it wasn't over.
And well, it wasn't.
The Lakers caught the Celtics off-guard, and made it rain threes from all sides. Vujacic, Radmanovic, Fisher, and then Bryant, all pitched in, as the Lakers chipped within single digits, from a 20-point deficit. Then, with less than 40 seconds left in the game, Kobe made it a two-point game. The Boston fans were in a daze, as the Lakers were on a verge of another miraculous comeback.
Pierce wasn't moved, though. Not behind the free-throw line, not on his turf, not on the Garden, not under 16 banners.
The Lakers fouled Paul Pierce on a drive attempt. Pierce sank two pressure-packed free throws to make it a four-point game, and then blocked a Vujacic 3-pointer on the other side.
Over. Done. Sigh of relief for Doc Rivers and the Celtics. Disappointment on the Lakers side.
There's still Game 3-5 at the Staples Center, though. 3-2.
It's the Celtics in 7 for me, still.
[Can you believe it??? The Lakers beat the Spurs in 5!!! And now they're on the Finals!!!!!!!11111ONEONEONE]
Of course you can. [Spurs fans?]
The Lakers won Game 5 by eight points, from being down 17, thanks to Bryant's 39 points and Gasol's 19 rebounds. Despite the Spurs' quick start which gave them the early lead, and Tim Duncan's triple-double, they seemed to have lost energy in the second half, when the youthful Lakers outran them and slowly chipped into the game.
Thanks to this win, the Lakers are Western Conference Champions for the first time since trading Shaquille O'Neal. They will be facing the winner of the Celtics-Pistons series[which I know will be the Celtics], on a disadvantage. Whether it's the Pistons or the Celtics[but I really know it's the Celtics^^], four games will be played away from the Staples Center. However, they'll be getting a week's rest before Game 1 of the Finals[try to stop the urges, Kobe... please.].
Emdyey's say: [HAH!! I told you!] A year after calling the team a "mess", the MVP is back in the Finals, and this time, without Shaq. [His "childish" acts in the pre-season proved beneficial, didn't it? [Skeptics?]] The Lakers actually have the best chance to win the title, for me, since they are performing better on the road so far, compared to either the Celtics or the Pistons. They also have a perfect home record in the post-season, and I don't think they'll be disappointing their home fans, and in the Finals. Moreover, they have the youngest lineup among the three remaining teams.
[I want the Celtics to win the title, actually. By one point, thanks to Ray Allen's 38-foot bank shot in the last second of the third overtime in Game 7 of the Finals. That close. Why? The Lakers have five or six more years left to catch two or more titles, while the Celtics only have this season and the next one to do so. It's all about staying power, and the Celtics don't have much.]
By the way, the Celtics are up, 3-2. One win away from renewing the rivalry.
[Time to become a fan. Enough with the unbiased stuff for now.]
The Lakers are one win away from eliminating the Spurs! Aryt.
Game 5 is in Los Angeles, where the Spurs lost the first two games of the series. What would happen in Game 5? It's pretty obvious for me. Yes, the Spurs almost won Game 1 and Game 4. But they didn't. So shut up.
Apparently, the Spurs are getting old. Michael Finley, Brent Barry, Robert Horry, Bruce Bowen, and Manu Ginobili. All banged up, stiff, and old. Old, old, old. Yeah, and they're one game away from being knocked out.
Will the Spurs fight back? Of course they will look to fight back. They're the defending champs[thanks to last year's weak east]. But after this close loss at home, I don't think they still have anything left in their gas tank. It's veeery exhausting to lose a two-point game. So exhausting that they'll lose their next game, thanks to fatigue, and a very low morale.
Without any bias, I predicted it to be Lakers in 7.
But hey, Lakers in 5 is better. ^^
[sleeping time||kill me. Spurs fan?]
