My NBA Finals Diary:How Sweet It Is (Game 7)

With seconds to go before the final buzzer ended Lamar Odom threw the ball on the other side of the court while Kobe Bryant speed off from the half court as he caught the ball and celebrate as the Lakers grabbed their 16th franchise championship win and Kobe’s fifth. It was pretty much the way the game was dictated as the Lakers struggled for the first three quarters with Boston leading most of the way as high as 13 points before Fisher’s three and Artest and Gasol’s crucial plays.
“I still didn’t know how we’ve won that game… I had really no idea” said Kobe Bryant who only made 6 out of his 24 shots. “This was the hardest one by far. I wanted it so bad, and sometimes when you want it so bad, it slips away from you. My guys picked me up.” This is a different Lakers team we are seeing now the 08 Lakers could have succumbed to pressure when the lead ballooned all the way to 13. They were resilient most of the time and when their star player wasn’t producing anything the other guys step up. Fisher hit a crucial three to tie the game while Ron Artest scored a three of his own when the Celtics were threatening to slim the gap to two points late in the fourth quarter. Pau Gasol made the big difference after grabbing an offensive rebound with the Lakers up by three with 30 seconds to go and scoring 9 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter.
“We were scratching and clawing, trying to do everything we could to try to pull this out,” Allen said. “We had an opportunity to win, but it just didn’t go our way down the stretch. I don’t think we ran out of steam. Lady Luck just didn’t bounce in our corner.” It did but it only gave them luck for three quarters and now the Celtics will experience the way the Lakers went through in 2008… the long walk towards the bus, the emotional torment and frustrations. There won’t be any vindication or second chance for the Celtics with their aging roster and some players ending contracts it looks like it’s the end of the road for them. “This one is by far the sweetest, because it’s them,” said a jubilant Bryant as he grabbed another MVP finals trophy. This one should be put right on the greatest finals battle in NBA history and what a fitting Hollywood ending for the greatest team in the NBA today after going through a lot of tough battles and now redemption is theirs…how sweet it is…