Celtics win … Can you believe it?
Jun 13th, 2008 by Bill Burt
The Celtics 97-91 win over the Lakers in Game 4 was special.
You could hand out MVP trophies to several people last night. Here would be my Top 5.
Paul Pierce: He literally willed the Celtics to a win in the finals. While his numbers (20 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists) were close to Kobe Bryant’s (17 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists), there is no doubt who the better player was. He made the key hoops in the second half while Kobe and the Lakers offense went stale.
Ray Allen: He played 48 minutes, which is the entire game. Enough said. He quietly was a superstar. He didn’t make a mistake during crunch time. He scored 19 points. His easy drive past Sasha Vujacic as the shot clock expired and just 16 seconds remaining on the game clock, clinched the victory. He also had 9 rebounds.
Kevin Garnett: This wasn’t his greatest game, but he was there when it counted, which apparently wasn’t always the case in Minnesota. He had six points in the fourth quarter. He finished with 11 rebounds, giving him a 12.5 per game average against the Lakers. His turnaround jumper from eight feet, over Paul Gasol, gave the C’s their biggest lead of the game, 88-83 with 2:10 remaining.
James Posey: The Lakers have learned you leave Posey alone, you will get burned. He finished with 18 points, only the fourth time in 24 playoff games that he has scored in double figures. He hit four of eight 3-pointers and all four of his free throw attempts.
Eddie House: What would the Celtics have done without House last night? They would have lost. House finished 11 points, hitting a key 18-foot jumper with 4:07 remaining to give the Celtics their first lead of the game, 84-83. The Celtics never trailed again. House’s best work, though, was his handling the ball and running the offense. With Rondo hurting, House played 25 minutes and added value.
Coach Doc Rivers: As you saw on TV, Doc never gave up. He was a bastion of positive vibes the entire way, when things looked really grim in the second quarter. He kept telling the team, “to keep fighting,” and “we’re going to win this.” His moving Pierce to cover Bryant changed the Celtics fortunes. He also had James Posey on Lamar Odom, which turned out to be a win for the C’s as Odom didn’t score when Posey had him.
Do you have any thoughts on these picks?
One comment so far... to “Celtics win … Can you believe it?”
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1jim-red sox nation west said:
Pierce was awesome!!! but the new,”big game James” Posey was the difference. Every one of his shots were clutch!! He is the game MVP. Props to Ray Allen who played every second of the game.
