Forty-eight hours after Ray Allen set a Finals record with 8 three-pointers, he layed a giant goose egg in a pivotal Game 3 at the Garden. Ray shot 0-13 FG (2 points) as the Lakers regained home court advantage with a 91-84 victory over the Celtics.
Derek Fisher was the money man for the Lakers. He bailed out Kobe Bryant (29 points on 10-29 FG) and had 11 of his 16 points in the 4th quarter.
KG was fantastic. 25 points (11-16 FG), 6 rebounds in 32 minutes. He took the ball right at Pau Gasol all night.
Paul Pierce was mediocre - 15 points, 5-12 FG and 2 rebounds. He was plagued by foul trouble.
After a quick start, the Celtics offense fell flat. The Lakers built up a 17 point lead in the 2nd quarter. The Celtics chipped away and chipped away all night but could never get over the hump. It was maddening.
The referees were horrible (for both teams), yet again. It was almost as if they avenged Kobe Bryant's Game 2 foul trouble but frequently blowing the whistle on Paul Pierce. The offensive foul on KG (induced by a Gasol flop) in the final minute was horrendous. Unfortunately, the refs had to make up for the previous out-of-bounds replay which was awarded to the Celtics because they missed an obvious foul on Rondo.
Both benches stepped up their play. Lamar Odom had 15 points and 5 rebounds. I knew we were in trouble when he banked home that 3-pointer in the first half. As for the Celtics, Glen Davis had 12 points in 24 hustle-packed minutes. Lots of credit goes to Tony Allen for his defense on Kobe.
"Some of the fouls hurt us.... Maybe I should start complaining about fouls. Maybe I could get it turned around like it was turned around tonight. That was amazing." - Doc Rivers
EDITOR'S NOTE: I was embarrassed to read through the comments this morning. I banned as many Lakers trolls as possible. I also unpublished several unsavory comments from some of our regulars. I know it's tough to hold back, but don't engage with these fools. It makes all of us look like idiots. As for Mikey, he's history... on the blacklist. I can't take his nonsense anymore.