Many Celtic fans found themselves jumping off a bridge as soon as Paul Pierce went down to the floor, clutching his knee.
There was a collective gasp from the entire stadium, which turned into dead silence as he was carted off the court in a wheelchair.
It must have come as a shock to Boston fans since their team was playing well up to that point.
The game began as many expected—close. The score bounced back and forth for the first two quarters. Only at the end of the first half did a team start to make some space for themselves.
Los Angeles entered the intermission with a five point advantage over the jump-shooting Celtics.
The Lakers did a good job of hitting their shots in the first half, both inside and out. One of the few downsides of the half was Bryant getting denied in the paint. Without Kobe driving to the hole every few plays, it was either up to his jump-shooting ability or the playmaking ability of the rest of the team.
For the majority of the game, other Laker teammates basically stood around and waited for Bryant to get it done. They should have been looking for ways to get open and find the seams so that their superstar could dish it out to them.
Bryant got it done in the first half, but things went downhill from there.
The second half is where the Lakers crumbled. Los Angeles allowed Boston a four-point lead going into the critical fourth quarter.
With the Celtics disrupting any potential drive from Bryant—or the rest of the Lakers squad—it was relatively easy for them to maintain and expand their lead late in the game.
Even without Pierce.
Los Angeles had the perfect opportunity to force the tempo of the game and work their way back while the best scorer on the Celtics was out of the action.
The Celtics defense probably doesn't deserve as much credit as I'm giving them. The blame for the Lakers' struggles rests mainly on themselves, and their soft offense.
When Pierce came back to the cheering of thousands of fans and the pumping of Garnett's fist, almost all Lakers fans knew it was over.
Pierce went berserk in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 of his 22 points after his return with 5:04 remaining.
Garnett led the scoring for the Celtics with 24, as well as providing a towering presence inside as he grabbed 15 rebounds. Ray Allen also had a big game, racking up 19 points and eight rebounds. Rajon Rondo scored 15.
Over in the purple corner, things didn't look as bright. Los Angeles' illustrious star, Kobe Bryant, was held to only 24 points and three rebounds. Both Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher scored 15 points, while Lamar Odom scored 14. Gasol, Fisher, and Odom combined for a total of 18 rebounds.
The Lakers will look to bounce back in Game Two on Sunday night. The game will be televised on ABC, starting at 9 pm EST.
6 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Rave Wiler about 1 year ago
Im going to be the first to say that after watching that game I can't believe how Much of a Cry Baby Paul Pierce is, talk about laying on the floor CRYING holding his knee then being carried off and put into a wheel chair and taken to the back and he was still screaming all the way back,Now either they shot him up with cortizone and was able to feel no pain any more or what really happened was the doctors told him there was nothing wrong accept a bruised knee or as espn puts it (knee Injury and thats it) and thats when he figured out that it was fine so Ran back into the game and did the job,Well good job Paul your acting had us fooled.My prediction L.A takes this series WIth Kobe breaking out.
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Andrew Kneeland about 1 year ago
It was a strained meniscus. According to ESPN, that means that he will need surgery after the season, but he can play for the rest of the series, except with major pain.
I don't think Pierce is a cry baby at all. I am not a Boston fan this Finals, and when was he even known as a whimp? If he was carted off the court, I will give him the benefit of a doubt when saying whether or not it hurt any.
But I'm also not saying that too much is being made of the injury. Sure, it was great for the fans to see their hero run back onto the court with a rubber brace on and lead their team to victory. It got the crowd into the game, didn't it? Good for them.
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Ben Weixlmann about 1 year ago
Pierce played a wonderful game, but unfortunately, I must say I think the Lakers will win in 7.
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Andrew Kneeland about 1 year ago
I'm with 'ya Benjamin. LA in six.
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Rave Wiler about 1 year ago
He is a baby he played fine no soreness for game 2 shot well and came up with a big Defensive play to seal it,Hes from Hollywood he knows how to act
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Andrew Kneeland about 1 year ago
I don't think he said to the trainers, "carry me out in a wheelchair." I'm sure that was the choice of the training staff, and they thought he was hurt. It wasn't all Hollywood acting.
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