Statement In Tinsel Town

Just a couple nights after putting forth one of their most disappointing efforts in a loss against the Phoenix Suns, the Boston Celtics rallied in L.A. to provide one of their more impressive outputs of the season to beat the Lakers.

Managing to only muster up a season low 71 points last Friday on one of the porous defenses in the NBA, the C’s must have been saving up some baskets for Sunday’s matchup against their hated rivals.  It was an intense, close game throughout the first three quarters, but the Celtics excelled in the clutch and dominated the Lakers down the stretch in the fourth quarter.

Paul Pierce led the Celtics in the scoring column with 32 points and Ray Allen continued his assassin-like, long range assault, contributing 21 points.  It was an interesting last couple games for KG as he was ejected (along with head coach Doc Rovers) in the Suns game and then posted a strong double-double in Sunday’s matchup.  

The points and rebounds did not come easily though.  An inadvertent elbow from Pao Gasol caught KG on the forehead, opening up a pretty gnarly gash that sent a stream of blood gushing down his face.  He then attempted to pull off his best Boston Bruins impersonation when he retreated to the locker room and emerged just a few minutes later with a five fresh stitches, covered by with what had to be the largest Band-Aid to ever be affixed during a game in the history of the NBA.

Despite Kobe Bryant scoring 41 points, the Celtics seemed to be fine with letting the superstar rack up the points, because it took him almost 30 attempts to reach that figure.  Their suffocating team defense held every other player to relatively quiet games, with Lamar Odom being the only other Laker who had any decent offensive statistics.

Conversely, the Celtics offense looked to be clicking on all cylinders as Rajon Rondo put on a point guard clinic in the second half, dishing out an incredible 15 assists in the half and left a much older and slower Derek Fisher in his pinpoint passing wake.

This game really exposed the Lakers’ weaknesses.  Their point guard position has to be a huge concern.  Especially when matched up against a younger, quicker opponent, as evidenced by Sunday’s game.  Secondly, their lack of depth and quality in their reserve players was clearly an issue.   Boston’s bench had a major advantage despite not having two of their biggest role players in Delonte West and Jermaine O’neal, who were both out with injuries.

The recent return of Kendrick Perkins has been a major boost for this team and his addition has been a much needed spark during a normally treacherous West coast road trip.  Shaquille O’neal had to be disappointed with a lackluster performance in his highly anticipated return to L.A., so Perkins’ presence was imperative in the victory.  

With a come-from-behind win in Sacramento late last night, the Celtics wrapped up the trip with a 3-1 record heading back to the comforts of the TD Banknorth Garden.  They still own the best record in the Eastern Conference and look to maintain their three-game lead over the Miami Heat as they return to their home court, where they have dominated opponents this season.  

Luckily, for all of us who love these Lakers/Celtics matchups, we get to do it all over again on February 10^th, when Boston will play host to the Lakers.  Let’s hope for a similar result as we ready our Laker-hater gear and warm up our vocals to chime in on the “Beat L.A.” chants.