Celtics Recap: Boston Comes Away With Win Despite Strong Kobe Bryant Performance
After playing two and a half quarters of even basketball, the Celtics broke loose. In a game that was a story of physicality, the Celtics answered the call.
In the first half, the Lakers had just over 30 points in the paint and 22 rebounds, giving the Celtics a late run to take a 54-50 advantage at intermission. Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce led the way at the break offensively, Bryant scoring 22 and Pierce scoring 20.
As the game started moving into the final minutes of the third and early fourth quarters, the Celtics began to find their rhythm offensively, scoring 59 of their 109 in the second half.
The Lakers struggled to find an answer defensively for Pierce, who had a team-high 32 points on 11 of 18 shooting from the field. Garnett and Allen did their part as well, scoring a combined 39 points and 17 of 24 shooting. Garnett also added a game-high 13 rebounds.
When it came to rebounds and points in the paint, the Lakers looked impeccable after one half. After their 22 rebounds in the first half, the Lakers would finish with 30, grabbing a mere eight the entire second half.
Kobe Bryant was Kobe Bryant, matching a season-high with 41 points on a day that the black mamba had every answer for nearly every defense thrown at him. The problem: come crunch time, the help was nowhere to be found.
Disregarding Kobe Bryant’s 16-of-29 performance from the field, the rest of the team shot 38 percent from the field, struggling to get open looks on an aggressive Celtics defense.
Down the stretch, the Celtics began to throw multiple defenders in Bryant’s path each possession, forcing difficult shots and missed shots from Gasol and Artest.
After scoring a season-low 71 points at Phoenix, the Celtics clicked from all cylinders, hitting 44 shots on 34 assists. A 60 percent shooting effort from the C's proved to be too much to handle for the Lakers, with the Celtics pulling away with a 109-96 victory.
The Celtics will go for a season sweep on February 10th, when the two teams square off at TD Garden.
