Mattie T’s Game 5 Recap of the 2010 NBA Finals
Written by The Go-To-Man Mattie T. on June 14, 2010
The defending NBA champions are now officially in trouble.
Not even a 38-point game from Kobe Bryant was able to save the Los Angeles Lakers, as the Boston Celtics had four players in double-figures during their 92-86 win on Sunday evening.
Paul Pierce has come alive, as he’s scored a combined 46 points on 19-of-33 shooting (57.5%) from the field over his last 2 games, which were both Boston wins.
Other than Pau Gasol’s double-double (12 points & 12 rebounds in 38 minutes), Los Angeles got little help elsewhere as Derek Fisher & Ron Artest combined to shoot a woeful 4-of-18 (22.2%) & committed 7 fouls between them.
Bryant sounded peeved when asked about the minimal effort that he received from his teammates during Game 5:
“Just man up and play. What the hell is the big deal? If I have to say something to them, then we don’t deserve to be champions. We’re down 3-2: Go home, win one game, go into the next one. Simple as that.”
For the 2nd straight game, the Lakers committed more turnovers then assists (13 to 12) and could not make key stops as the Celtics shot 56.3% for the game.
Boston is now in good company, as they have never lost an NBA Finals series when leading 3 games to 2.
The Celtics can now clinch an 18th championship with a win in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening, as the Lakers will look to starve off elimination & force a Game 7 for Thursday.
