NBA Finals: Tenacity Defeats Experience Again

The Los Angeles Lakers took over the Fourth Quarter. They took it to Boston. They looked to pull off the comeback.

Too bad it came too late.

The Boston Celtics staved off a late rally from the Lakers to defeat LA 108-102 to go up 2-0 and lift banner No. 17 halfway to the rafters.

Paul Pierce was being Paul Pierce as he finished with 28 points while KG and Ray Allen finished with 17 points apiece.

The Celtics and Lakers traded places as it was Los Angeles who found themselves playing defense and the Celtics were stuck playing offense for the final eight minutes of the game.

But it wasn't just the Boston Three Party that got things done to ensure victory.

Boston's bench stepped up big, led by Leon Powe's 21 points in 15 minutes. He truly earned his Boston stripes last night as the Celtics moved within two wins of fulfilling a dream.

As for the Lakers, Kobe was being Kobe as he snagged 30 points and did a lot better tonight than his mediocre shooting performance in Game One. But it was Vlad Radmanovic who kept the Lakers in it in the fourth.

After it started raining threes for the Lakers, the Celtics bounced back with some quick pick and rolls which forced LA to play tougher defense.

But it was the wrong night to be a Laker both on and off the court. As Magic Johnson stuffed his face with popcorn during the huge lead of Boston, he should have looked around and seen the face of tenacity because it was there in full force.

During the game, the likes of Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Donovan McNabb, Vince Young, and Leo DiCaprio were in attendance. But the biggest tenacious player of this era received his biggest honor during the second quarter as Jon Lester, the Red Sox pitcher who survived cancer and came up big for Boston during last year's World Series, was honored during a timeout.

People may be saying that Boston is getting a little too big for its pants simply because they played a role in the last three championships. But if you ask the fans or supporters, they're enjoying being the underdogs as of late.

Game Three is Tuesday night in the House of Kobe aka The Staples Center. For Kobe's sake, he better hope that he finds his shooting groove. Otherwise, Boston may be hoisting the championship, much to the chagrin of the City of Angels, in Los Angeles.