Celtics rally to stun Lakers, reach brink of NBA title

Jun 14

The Boston Celtics pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in National Basketball Association history, rallying from a 24-point hole Thursday to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 97-91 in the NBA Finals.

Paul Pierce scored 20 points and Ray Allen added 19 to spark an astonishing victory that put Boston ahead three games to one in the best-of-seven series, a lead no team in NBA Finals history has ever squandered to lose a title. “We sucked it up,” Pierce said. “I said, ‘Don’t look at the score. We just have to go out and compete and see where it is at the end of the day.’ I know what it is to dig deep and get the win.”

The Celtics would win their first championship since 1986, and stretch their record total to 17, with a victory in game five here Sunday after they trailed 45-21 in the second quarter and 70-50 midway into the third quarter. “It’s a great position to be in. We’re thrilled with the win and it’s a great comeback, but we still have to win one game,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “It’s a great comeback but you don’t get anything for it.” The Celtics took their first lead of the game at 84-83 on Eddie House’s jumper with 4:07 remaining. Allen sank a reverse layup and Kevin Garnett followed to cap an 8-0 run that gave Boston an 88-83 edge.

NBA Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant hit two baskets to pull the Lakers within 89-87 but James Posey, who came off the bench to score 18 points, sank a 3-pointer from the left side to stretch Boston’s lead to 92-87. The Lakers trimmed the gap to 94-91 on a Gasol dunk with 40 seconds to play but Allen answered with a driving layup past Sasha Vujacic to put the Celtics ahead 96-91 with 16 seconds remaining. Bryant, who made only 6-of-19 shots, missed a final attempt and the Lakers’ giveaway was complete, snapping their home playoff win streak at nine games.

In all probability game 5 should see the Celtics win their 17th title so make sure you don’t miss it. The Lakers Vs Celtics game 5 won’t be shown live in India but will be telecast as a same day delay at 14.00 IST on Monday the 16th of June on ESPN.

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3 Comments

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  1. skitz
    Jun 14 at 16:57

    isn’t there any way to watch this one live online? For free of course. It sucks that we have to watch with sameday delay.

  2. Aniruddh
    Jun 16 at 06:31

    Somwhow basketball never takes priority with these indian channels. and all those online listings are paid deals. this is so pissing off…

  3. Dr. Whites
    Jun 16 at 06:40

    Hi Aniruddh. Dont worry. You can catch the game live on NBA.com by signing up for a free all access pass. If your low on bandwith then you can listen in on NBA radio but youl still have to sign up, its free and registration hardly takes a few minutes.

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