Lakers-Celtics: Lakers End C's 19-game Win Streak

Hold on just ONE second Celtics’ fans and players, you haven’t won the 2008-09 NBA crown just yet.

(At least not according to a few guys wearing the white, purple, and gold.)

With the spotlight on this game as one of the most anticipated regular season NBA Finals rematches in recent memory, there was very little disappointment.

This game was circled on the calendars of every NBA fan. There is no way that anyone can believe that the Celtics didn’t want to win this game just a little bit more than, say, a November matchup with the Nets.

The Boston players could sit there and say that this was just another game that was just as important as the other 82, but human nature isn’t letting me believe that.

Derek Fisher didn’t front about it. Neither did Sasha Vujacic. Both said that this game means something personal. Sasha took it one step further to even say that he straight out doesn’t like the Celtics. Gotta love the honesty, it’d be hard to find anyone willing to say that straight out even though you know they’re all thinking it.

The C’s were just outplayed by the Los Angeles Lakers, plain and simple.

Not only was a 19-game win streak on the line for Boston, but the reputation of the Los Angeles Lakers. They were being called perhaps the most shaky 24-5 team in NBA history, having lost a few questionable games this season, as well as barely scraping by a few teams at the bottom of the NBA food chain.

But not only did LA snap the 4^th longest winning streak in NBA history, they proved that weren’t as soft as once thought. They played hard defensively, holding the C’s to 16 points in the fourth quarter, as well as forcing 18 turnovers throughout the game.

The Celtics did what LA couldn’t do in last year’s NBA Finals which was to come through in the clutch. A pretty good stat for you is the Lakers ending the game on a 13-2 scoring run. Leading the way with three huge assists in the finals half of the fourth quarter was Kobe Bryant dishing to Gasol.

We’ll be waiting for the next chapter in this rivalry to come Feb. 5^th, not to mention the big one in June.