Lakers Lose

June 17, 2008

It was Over Early

After a while, Phil Jackson didn't even bother looking at the score.

The second half was just a 24-minute countdown to the inevitable. He knew when he left the locker room at halftime last night that he was working with a team of tin men.

He couldn't pinpoint when it happened. Maybe it was one of the two 3-pointers James Posey drilled early in the second quarter.

Maybe it was the one Eddie House drained.



His Lakers were heartless after the second quarter, and he knew it. The rest was an avalanche in the Celtics' 131-92 championship-clinching win.

"The last two minutes of the second period buried the team emotionally," said Jackson. "We went into the locker room at halftime and tried to get our guys back on bearing and really came out in the third quarter and couldn't turn the momentum around."

Posey had stepped into thousands of 3-pointers during his post-practice routine, shooting for almost an extra half-hour each time.

He summed it up in one word: "Repetition."

He was one of the few Celtics players who had been on this stage before, winning a ring with Miami in 2006. The pressure of hitting the same threes he hits every day in practice didn't exist

"You shoot your shot and just be ready when the ball comes your way," said Posey. "I knew I could take shots. The opportunity presented itself on all those occasions and I definitely came through."

For what it's worth, Posey said the Celtics had reached into the Lakers' chests long before the game even started.

"We felt like we took their heart in LA," he said. "It was just a matter of time."

The Celtics went into the half up 23. They had turned 11 Los Angeles turnovers into 18 points, and with threes from Posey and House they went on an 11-0 run that put them up 14 before Kevin Garnett sparked another mini-run to end the half. They limited the NBA's strongest offense to 35 first-half points.

"The defense is the backbone of our team," Garnett said. "As you can see, we score in bunches. I don't think that was a question mark."

Coach Doc Rivers said, "We challenged them before the game for one time: 'Let's play 48 minutes of defense, just all out, denials, challenge shots.' "
But truthfully, they needed only 24 minutes. By then, Kobe Bryant was flustered, Jackson was out of ideas, and the Lakers were buried

"I thought through this playoff we played in quarters and in spurts and it was good in those spurts," Rivers said. "Tonight we probably put it together offensively and defensively. It was just a perfect night to do it."

Rivers was hugging his players with four minutes left. Paul Pierce was dancing as Gino played on the big screen. Owner Wyc Grousbeck had a cigar in his mouth and a smile on his face. There was a guy in the crowd waving a white flag that said "Light One Up Red."
But if Red Auerbach were at the Garden to see championship No. 17 last night, he could have lit his victory cigar at the half.