Everybody goes to Hollywood! And tonight SLAM is in the heezy again for our Game Four liveblog.
• OK, we’re here. Pregame talk from Phil and Doc was about their own guys. Doc said he expects no problems from Rondo’s rondo’d ankle, and Phil talked about trying to get Lamar going by trying to get him more comfortable jump shots from the wings. Stern just addressed the media about Donagate, but I skipped it to get some strawberry shortcake from the dining hall. I still feel it was a strong decision on my part.
• Kareem is at halfcourt delivering the game ball. Khalid is to my right, Jemele from E*PN is to my left, and Larry David is courtside. Hard to get much better than this. Let’s do this!
FIRST QUARTER
• Lakers win the tip and Lamar goes straight to the cup, where KG goaltends his layup. Ray Allen drives down Sepulveda directly to the rim and ties it at two.
• Pierce bricks a jumper from the wing. After being red hot in Game Two, he hasn’t made a three since.
• 10:13 left in the first, and KG and Rondo each have a foul. As Kobe goes to the line, the Staples Center PA plays a drumbeat to encourage the fans to chant M-V-P. Seem weird to encourage them to distract their own player, but whatever. Perk then picks up a loose ball foul, and Gasol gets an open dunk. 7-2 Lakers. Kobe gets a steal, but Pierce knocks it away, then Kobe gets it back and Pau fires up an airball. Whew.
• Technical foul on Doc Rivers, and Fisher misses that. KG misses a layup and LA outworks Boston for the board, then Odom gets an open dunk on the other end. Rondo scores, then Lamar gets another layup. 11-4 LA, and Lamar has 6 already.
• • Ray Allen sticks Kobe at the elbow, and Kobe can’t pump-fake him out of the way. Kobe dishes it to Pau, and he can’t shake Perk. Then Pierce drops the rebound out of bounds. Bad first quarter for Boston.
• LA is leaving Rondo wide open, and he is not trying to shoot it. LA is also running Boston so far, and they lead 16-6, with 6:31 to go in the first. Timeout! Doc Rivers is losing his mind and his voice tonight.
• KG just picked up his second foul, which is probably a good thing the way he’s been playing tonight. PJ Brown has been oiled up and dusted off and he’s ready to go. But Vlad Rad just ripped a three over Paul Pierce. Lakers are ahead 20-6.
• It took PJ Brown, but a Celtic finally took the ball to the rim. Kobe fouled him. ALLEGEDLY! Doc also just went to Eddie House, which I’m taking is a sign that he wasn’t thrilled with the way Rondo was or was not playing. And House just bricked a jumper. Fisher from the foul line, bang!
• Timeout Lakers with the 3:20 to go in the first and the score 24-7, which seems like a sign or something. Los Angles is shooting 67 percent from the floor, and Boston is most definitely not (they’re at a robust 21 percent).
• Lamar hits a J (not that kind of J) from the top of the key out of a timeout. Jemele is looking up convicted felons in my neighborhood on her computer.
• Ray Allen! His three puts Boston into double-digits, 26-12.
• Tervor Ariza is in the house. Also, we’ve been joined in the press box by The Mad VP.
• The Lake Show has jumped ahead 28-12, and now PJ Brown is sending Gasol to the line. By the way, Lamar is up to 13 points now. 30-13. Now Ariza is going to the line. Makes one, misses second and nails a three from the corner. Lakers have shot 13 free throws, the Celtics have shot 2. Good grief.
• LA is up 35-14, and Sasha Vujacic just checked in for the first time as the quarter ended. So there it is, a 35-14 lead after one. Long game, lot of time left, but still…it’s 35-14! I’ve been wondering the entire postseason why teams don’t try to run against Boston (you know I have!) and now LA seems to have wondered the same thing. The answer? They should’ve been running against them more. It also helps to have a 15/2 free throws attempted advantage.
SECOND QUARTER
• The Celts begin the second quarter with a turnover from Ray Allen. Ugh.
• Sasha misses a jumper, Ariza shoves Perk out of the way and gets the rebound and scores. No call.
• Boston finally goes to the free throw line, and Powe misses one of two.
• The game turns sloppy, as both teams go back and forth and turn it over. KG finally takes Gasol to the rim and shoots over him. I don’t understand why he doesn’t do this on every play.
• Walton misses a three and the crowd grumbles — it’s like the recognize LA is shooting too many threes. Then KG scores again. Then Walton hits a three and all is forgotten. Shoot them threes! BTW, pregame we heard a fan say to Luke, “You rock, brotha!”
• Posey sinks a free throw to cut it to 40-20. BTW, Kobe has no field goals tonight.
• I think it’s time for Sam-I-Am to take over. He played in this building all year, and Bill Simmons told us over and over how amazing he was going to be when he joined the Celts. Let’s see it happen! Save us Sam!
• Sam just turned the ball over.
• Vujacic hits a three. Powe tries to go 1-on-4 to the rim. Doesn’t work out so well. 45-21, 5:26 to go.
• Is it time to unleash Tony Allen? I think it is. BTW, Tony told me he was listening to Gucci Mane pregame.
• Rondo is back. Sasha and Kobe miss threes, and KG drops in a jumper to cut it to 45-23.
• Ray Allen for three. 45-26. Time out, LA. Phil is not playing around.
• Foul on Vlad Rad out of the timeout. Posey to the line…good, good. 45-28. 7-0 run. Gasol miss and Pierce three. Here comes Boston. 10-0 run. LA turnover, Pierce jumper. 45-33.
• Time for Kobe? No, Kobe gives it up and Fisher drives the lane and scores. And the foul. Timeout, Boston, with 2:36 left. Good timeout, They finally managed to meet LA’s intensity, but they ran out of gas, fast.
• They just ran a “Meet Lamar Odom” segment on the scoreboard. Fitting, because he’s been gone too long. BTW, Will Smith and Justin Timberlake just had a dance-off on the scoreboard. Seriously.
• Rondo rondos himself. I think that’s illegal in Cali. Then Gasol deposits a dunk on Ray Allen. Cuidado!
• Pierce for three, bang! Gasol gets wiped by KG. No, you cuidado!
• Kobe picks up his third with 52.2 left. Aiight, Kob! Later! Holla! Whatup, Sasha? How you been?
• Pierce to the line, good, good. 52-38.
• Pierce forces one. I think he was trying to go two-for-one, but he had Brown and Allen at the top of the key. Khalid disagrees with me, but we move on.
• Gasol gets two and one. With 5.2 left, Rondo to the line, but he misses one of two. LA inbounds to Farmar who channels Tyus Edney, his fellow UCLA alum, and goes coast to coast for a three. 57-40, LA leads at the half. Boston outscored LA 26-22 in that quarter. If they can continue at that rate, with this current deficit they’ll take the lead in the 7th quarter.
• It’s Lamar’s world, we’re all just living in it. He’s got 15, 8 and a +20 rating.
THIRD QUARTER
• Half two begins with Kobe and Vlad Rad sandwiching Pierce. Guess who the foul is called on? Yep!
• Two free throws for Pierce, then a jumper from KG, and Boston’s cut it to 58-44.
• Kobe! One dribble and a jumper. He’s on the board, finally.
• Rondo hits a floater, then KG hits a layup to make it 60-48. Odom drives on Perk and Perk goes out immediately with a bad shoulder. We look for a wheelchair but don’t see one.
• The Lakers score four straight when Perk leaves the court. PJ Brown is great, if we’re talking about 1998. But we’re not.
• Kobe wets a three from the wing and gives a little extra shake on the follow through. 66-48, LA.
• Boston misses and Kobe comes back with the ball. Boston doubles him, he shoots over it, misses and LA still gets the rebound. Fisher then hits a long two and it’s 68-48, with 7:06 left in the third.
• Pierce drives and scores out of the timeout. Kobe misses and Boston comes right back. Posey rims out a three. The game is definitely slowing down, which works in Boston’s favor.
• Pierce gets another two, then House hits a three from the wing. 70-55. Every Laker starter is in double figures…except Kobe.
• Ray Allen drives to the hoop and Derek Fisher has the angle…and they have the nicest collision in history.
• Kobe alley-oops to Pau! Posey misses a three. Posey picks up his fourth foul, but Boston gets a rebound and scores. 72-59. There’s a lot of unease in this arena. Oh, and Ray Allen gets the steal and goes in completely uncontested as Radmanovic ducks back out of the way. 72-61, with 2:58 to go. There’s a weird buzz from the crowd, like someone’s showing 2 Girls 1 Cup on the scoreboard.
• Celebs: Andy Garcia, Tobey Maguire, Justin Timberlake, Rick Fox(!), Will Smith, David Beckham (loudest cheer of the night), Jada Pinkett (softest cheer of the night) and Jack Nicholson. Khalid’s still smiling about Jada.
• Out of the TO, Kobe misses a runner, and then KG gets called for an offensive foul after setting consecutive moving screens.
• LA goes to Pau, who doesn’t know what to do with the ball and finally gets bailed out by a foul call…against Powey, his fifth. And that means…
• TONY ALLEN! All hell is going to break loose!
• Pierce then goes to the rim and goes through three defenders for a bucket. And one. 73-64. Tony Allen is paying dividends already!
• Tony Allen rebound! He’s officially in the books! A big night for Linkstigators worldwide.
• Eddie House from the corner! 73-67!
• The fans try to get fired up. Kobe drives on Pierce but his jumper rims out. Ray Allen drives and draws the foul. Two shots for Ray who goes…make, make. 73-69 (dude).
• Kobe on the wing, holds finds Vujacic (covered) who hits Farmar for an airball. The Boston finds a wide open PJ Brown for a huge dunk! Whoa.
• And that’s it, the third ends with LA leading by the skin of their teeth, 73-71.
FOURTH QUARTER
• Fourth quarter! And Phil Jackson knows what this game needs: Ronny Turiaf! Oui oui!
• Turiaf to the line, and he misses both. He’s so damn French, isn’t he?
• Leon Powe almost dunks a rebound but they call a foul on Turiaf, but somehow it’s not a shooting foul. Then Paul Pierce gets called for a offensive foul while shooting a jumper. Steve Javie has had it with Pierce and his drives.
• Kobe done broke the triangle again.
• There’s a tangle under the Boston basket and somehow Vujacic and Ray Allen get all tangled up. I haven’t seen Ray Allen that hands on since he was on that date with Rosario Dawson in “He Got Game.”
• Tied up! 73 all, thanks to Leon Powe. Both teams miss, then Kobe brings it up and calmly slices through the paint for two. Lakers lead 75-73. 9:12 to go.
• Paul Pierce is good. Tie game.
• Kobe dribbles the ball off Paul Pierce’s foot and out of bounds, and Javie calls a blocking foul on Pierce. I imagine Javie sitting around his hotel room the last few days furious about all this attention Donaghy’s been getting.
• Out of the timeout, bizarro Lamar returns. Boston goes to KG, who can’t score. Then Kobe faces down Pierce for a J. Eddie House misses a jumper. Kobe misses a jumper. KG does work and scores.
• 6:11 left and Lamar scores to give Los Angeles a 79-77 lead.
• Posey returns with 5 fouls, and Turiaf retreats to the bench as well. Also, You Don’t Mess With the Vujacic!
• Kobe gets a runout and zigzags through three Celts for a two-handed dunk. He makes that look so easy. LA leads 81-77, with 5:47 to go in the game. And to add injury to insult, it looks like Pierce was injured on the play. Nice. Tony Allen better be ready.
• Ray Allen stumbles off a curl, fights Zohan Vujacic for the ball, then hits Posey in the corner for a three. Wow. 81-80, LA.
• Gasol hits a leaner going right and with KG in his grill. KG comes back and goes right into Gasol’s chest for two free throws…good, good. 83-82, 4:45 to go.
• LA goes to Lamar, who can’t score, and then House pops a long two in Farmar’s face. Boston takes the lead, 84-83, with 3:48 left. The Stapler needs a refill — it just went dead silent in here.
• Pierce misses a three out of the timeout, and then Ray Allen gets the board and turns into Jesus Shuttlesworth, going baseline for a double-pump reverse. 86-83.
• Zohan misses a jumper at the shot clock buzzer, and then Kobe finds Farmar for a three and he misses. Then Boston clears it out for KG to destroy Pau, and he does work. 88-83, 2:10 left. They’re showing bloopers on the scoreboard.
• Here we go. 2:10 left, Boston ahead 88-83. Pierce fouls Kobe, who comes out attacking. Kobe makes, makes. 88-85.
• Pierce drives and is bustled by Pau Gasol. Pierce to the line for two…miss, make. 89-85.
• Boston gives a foul with 1:38 to go. Weird.
• Kobe takes on KG and PP without trouble. 89-87.
• Dagger! James Posey with a three from the wing. Then Fisher makes the worst shot in basketball, a two with his toes on the line. 92-89. Kobe fouls Pierce and gets upset that it was called a foul. Boston takes a timeout. Doc wants to ice Pierce? Boston’s ahead 92-89, with 46.8 left.
• Pierce makes the first…and the second. 94-89, 46.8.
• LA comes down and gets a quick two from Gasol. Then Ray Allen dribbles down the clock and goes right around Zohan Vujacic for a very easy two. Gasol and Fisher were supposed to have his back but they were at the late showing of You Don’t Mess With The Vujacic. Boston leads 96-91, 15.7 left.
• LA comes out, misses a couple of jumpers, and then Boston finally corrals the ball with 3.6 left. Eddie House to the line, and Boston wins it 97-91. One quick thought on the way downstairs…what happens to Boston without Perk and Rondo?
