The Celtics would take their first lead of the game on a jumper from the under utilized Eddie House with 4:07 left in the fourth quarter. The Lakers would threaten a few times through the remainder of the quarter, but a clutch three pointer from James Posey and a Ray Allen layup maintained the Celtics’ lead. Boston hit its free throws down the stretch to complete the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, a 97-91 victory in Los Angeles. Game five also featured a Boston comeback, this time from a 39-22 Los Angeles first quarter lead, but unlike game four, Los Angeles held on for a 103-98 victory, and forced the series back to Boston.
Since the series was going back to Boston for two home games, the Celtics were expected to win the finals, but the rout that was game six exceeded any and all reasonable expectations. Los Angeles kept the game close during the first quarter mainly due to Kobe Bryant’s 15 points, falling behind by a score of 24-20. The game didn’t stay close for long, as Boston went on an 11-0 run during the second quarter to expand their lead to 43-29. Role players James Posey and Eddie House accounted for all of the scoring during this stretch. The Lakers never threatened for the rest of the game as Boston began to pull away.
“The Celtics clamped down on Kobe Bryant by basically throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him defensively and none of the other Lakers stepped up.” said Jeff Little when referring to the ultimate cause of the Lakers’ downfall.
The Celtic lead grew to as much as 41 at one point in the fourth quarter, as Boston ended their championship run comfortably, to say the least, with a 131-92 blowout of the Lakers. Ray Allen set NBA Finals records for most threes made in an NBA Finals with 22 and most threes made in a Finals game with 7. Kevin Garnett, coming off of a performance that he had described as “garbage,” during which he missed three critical free throws to ice LA’s game five win, scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Paul Pierce was named the Finals MVP.
“The funny thing about my reaction [to the Celtics’ victory] was I don't know exactly when it was, due to the blowout.” said Stew Winkel, “but I remember being on the phone in the third quarter talking to my brother. Neither one of us wanted to say it was over. But then the lead went to 25, then to 30, and at some point it just hit us that this game was over. Our conversation changed from worrying about if the Lakers had one last run in them, to wouldn't it be great to win this game by 40 points. It was a combination of amazement at the blowout victory, and just pure joy thinking back on all the memories of the last 22 years.”
To some degree, the residual emotion from the Celtics’ magical championship run has not left the city of Boston despite the fact that the NBA season has long been over. Role players Sam Cassel, Eddie House, and PJ Brown are unrestricted free agents, so Boston could face a slight roster turnover this offseason
Danny Ainge’s intentions to keep James Posey, whose lockdown defense and clutch shooting were vital to Boston’s championship run, had been well publicized, but Boston's salary cap situation prevented Ainge from being able to offer Posey anything more than the $5.8 million dollar mid-level exception. Posey signed a four year, $25 million dollar contract with the New Orleans Hornets this week.
PJ Brown seems to be leaning toward retirement due to his advanced age and Sam Cassel doesn't seem to have drawn much interest from his former team in regards to retaining his services due to his often poor shot selection throughout his time in Boston.
Luckily for the Celtics, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett are all under contract until 2010 and one more championship run from this team is not an impossibility, especially in the increasingly mediocre Eastern Conference.
For the time being, the Celtics will likely have a quiet offseason, which is befitting of an NBA champion that is returning all 5 of its starters. This season was an amazing ride to say the least, and while it is pretty safe to say that we have seen the best from the aging Celtics, basketball is relevant in Boston again and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
P.S. I would like to take a moment to thank Mary Bordonaro, Daniel Iascone, Stew Winkel, Jeff Little, and Sean Crowe for their magnificent contributions to this article, which enabled me to procure an internship for the sports department of the Haverhill Eagle Tribune beginning this fall. Thanks for helping me chase the dream guys.
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