Go Big Or Die Hard: Boston Takes Game One

The populous picked the Lakers in six games. A majority of the "experts" picked the Lakers to win the first game and the series. Guess someone should have told Paul Pierce that last night.

As Pierce was being carried off the court late in the third quarter, the experts were already starting to call the Lakers champions. But it is only the first game...and Pierce has been waiting for this moment his entire career.

The go-to guy of the Boston Celtics came back and snagged 11 more points in the fourth quarter, finishing with 22, to lead the final charge of the Eastern Conference Champs as they took Game One of the NBA Finals 98-88 over the Los Angeles Lakers.

As for the remaining members of the Boston Three Party, Kevin Garnett threw down 24 points, while Ray Allen continued his new scoring sensation ways with 19 points as the Celtics used the return of their captain to fuel their motivation to end this game on a high note.

Though Willis Reed wasn't at last night's game, he was remembered in pure fashion. As Pierce jogged back onto the court, 18,000+ screaming Bostonians began to chant "Reed! Reed! Reed!" as if it was the Game Seven of the 1970 Finals between the New York Knicks and the Lakers.

Speaking of the Lakers, Kobe was being Kobe last night as he led the team with 24 points of 9-of-26 shooting. Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol finished with 15 points apiece, while Lamar Odom added 14 points.

Kobe spent the majority of the night trying to find his rhythm, but his rhythm must have been taking a longer rest.

In a star studded Game One, the Celtics didn't appear to have any jitters about their first appearance in the Finals in over 20 years, but Kobe looked rattled from the start as he opened the game on 1-of-7 shooting.

As for the star studded portion of the game, the camera easily found Bruce Willis, Randy Moss and Tedy Bruschi during major moments in the game.

As the Celtics took out the Lakers, Phil Jackson was busy making excuses about the way his team played. His most popular excuse, the tip off time for the game. I wonder if he would have felt this way if the series started in LA.

In any event, Boston strikes first blood, Pierce showed that in this finals it's Go Big or Die Hard, and Game Two is Sunday night in Boston.