I knew the Lakers would win this game, but I didn't expect the Celtics to wave the white flag in the middle of the second quarter. Kobe Bryant drop 26 points and grab 11 rebounds to lead the Lakers to defeat the Celtics 89-67 to even the series 3-3 and will play one of the biggest Game 7's in NBA history. The winner of this game will be the NBA Champion and I know doesn't want to see the Celtics win an NBA title on their home floor.
Kobe Bryant led the charge but it was how the team shared the ball and played together that earned them a victory and live to fight another day. Pau Gasol was one assist away from a triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists. As long as Gasol continues to play well in this series, the Lakers will not be stopped. Ron Artest scored a total of 24 points on 8-for-33 shooting and 3-for-14 from three-point range thru Games 2-5. It was about time he showed up in Game 6 as he drop 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting and 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.
How about the performance from the Lakers bench. They outscored the Celtics bench 25-13 and made everything so easy for the Kobe and the rest of the Laker starters. Lamar Odom and Sasha Vujacic combined for 17 points on 6-for-15 shooting. If anybody stoled the show in this game it was Shannon Brown. In the third quarter, he had two of the best dunks you'll see in the postseason. With the Lakers up 58-40, Kobe dished it to Brown for a breakaway dunk on transition as his head was up to the rim. Then a few plays later, Gasol throw an alley-oop pass to Brown for one of the sickest one-handed alley-oop dunks you'll ever see.
The Lakers defense surprised me big time in this game. They held the Celtics to the second-worst NBA Finals scoring performance with 67 points (Utah Jazz scored 54 points vs Chicago Bulls in 1998). The Lakers D held the Celtics to only 33.3% from the field. When the Lakers went on a 17-7 run in the first seven minutes of the second quarter to led the game 45-25, the Celtics waved the white flag. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett combined for only 25 points in this game, while Ray Allen had 19 points and was the only Celtics that showed up. Rajon Rondo played one of his worst games of the playoffs dropping only 10 points on 5-for-15 shooting, six assists, and three turnovers.
The biggest concern for the Celtics is Kendrick Perkins, who left the game with a sprain right knee in the first quarter. I don't think Perkins will miss this game, but I don't expect him to play so many minutes. This is going to be a huge problem, especially when they were outrebounded 52-39 in this game. There's no way Rasheed Wallace and Glen Davis will be able to shut down Gasol or Andrew Bynum on the offense or defensive side of the ball.
I originally pick the Lakers in seven games and I better stick with it. I can't wait for this game on Thursday night. So every one get your dinner and party ready because this will be the biggest Game 7 that you'll ever see.
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