NBA Finals Lakers take game one from Celtics
The numbers you need to know aren't Kobe Bryant’s 30 points or Pau Gasol’s 23 points and 14 rebounds or the 102-89 final score between the Lakers and Celtics.
The important numbers here are 47 and 0; 47 because it's the number of series Lakers head coach Phil Jackson has won after winning the first game, and 0 since it's the number of series Jackson has lost after winning the first game.
And after comfortably beating the Celtics by 13 points the Lakers have set themselves up for the best possible chance to win their 16th NBA title. It will take a monumental effort from the Celtics if they are to hand Jackson his first series defeat after winning the first game.
After just 27 seconds Ron Artest and Paul Pierce were given technical fouls for jostling for position and looking to get in each other’s faces after falling to the floor. That set the tone for the game and it was the Lakers who were seemingly the tougher team.
"I knew it was going to be physical. That's a given. After consecutive Finals, we understand the nature of the game. We understand who our rival is, how they play. You've got to compete, and you've got to match that physicality effort of the game to be successful,” Gasol said.
Even Celtics coach Doc Rivers admitted his team got out-muscled.
“They were the more physical team by far. They were more aggressive. They attacked us the entire night. I didn't think we handled it very well,” Rivers said.
Boston will need better performances all around if they are going to avoid getting themselves into a 2-0 hole. Ray Allen only had 12 points in 27 minutes after early foul trouble, Rajon Rondo didn’t dominate the game for Boston as he was expected to and Kevin Garnett only had four rebounds all game.
Both teams were physical from the outset and committed 54 fouls between them. Boston simply couldn’t keep up with LA’s physical play and dominance on the boards.
"You can't ease into the game, especially in the Finals. That's one of the better rebounding teams in the NBA. We've just got to do a better job rebounding the ball, eliminating easy opportunities. When I look up and we've given up 100 points, I haven't seen that in a while,” Celtics captain Pierce said.
The Lakers took a 20-point lead after three quarters and although the Celtics did cut the deficit by going on a 10-1 run at the start of the fourth, ultimately it wasn’t enough.
Game two is on Sunday at Staples Center and the Celtics clearly know where they need to improve to make a series of, well, the series.
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