The Celtics used an 18-6 spurt over the final 6 minutes of the 4th quarter to beat the Lakers 103-94 and even this series at 1-1.
Rondo (19 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists) was cash money down the stretch. He scored 10 points in the 4th. Had a huge block on Derek Fisher and key strip of Kobe Bryant.
Ray Allen was the hero of the 1st half, where he scored 27 of his 32 points. His 8 3-pointers are an NBA Finals record.
The bench was superb. Nate Robinson had 7 points during a 6 minute stretch at the start of the 4th quarter. It was a key contribution because Rondo needed a blow at the time. Rasheed Wallace and Glen Davis combined for 15 points and 14 rebounds.
The officiating was bad, real bad. The referees called 29 fouls on each team. Ticky-tack BS fouls. While fans may bitch because the Lakers took 15 more FTs than the Celtics (41-26), I thought the refs did a good job spreading their bad calls amongst both teams. Kobe Bryant played just 34 minutes due to foul trouble.
Equally as bad as the officiating was KG's play - 6 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 fouls. He is getting manhandled by Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum (a combined 46 points, 14 rebounds and 13 blocks).
The Celtics also win despite a horrendous offensive performance by Paul Pierce - 10 points, 2-11 FG.
This was a huge win. Everyone talked about how the Lakers knocked out the Celtics in Game 1. Well they swung back in a big way, and it was the smallest guy on the court who packed the biggest punch.
"They beat the crowd, they beat the Lakers and they beat the officials," - Tommy Heinsohn