With an unprecedented 18th NBA Championship on the line, the Boston Celtics faltered in Game 6 and gave the Los Angeles Lakers new life. The game was over by the second quarter as the Lakers pulled ahead by 22 points and finished with an 89-67 victory. Game 7 will crown the NBA champions for these longtime rivals.
The series has been statistically unpredictable as each teams exchanged wins until Game 5 when Boston won back to back games. The only constant has been rebounding. The team that wins the battle on the boards has taken each game. Los Angeles won that last night, among other stats. Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, which means the ball was distributed for the victory. Pau Gasol contributed 17 points and 13 rebounds. Ron Artest added 15 points. But the Lakers were most impressive on defense, limiting Boston to the second lowest-scoring total in NBA Finals history.
Ray Allen led the Celtics with 19 points but the team shot only 33% from the floor. Kendrick Perkins went down with a knee injury and is questionable for the game on Thursday. They need his defensive presence in the middle up against Gasol and Andrew Bynum, who is also battling injuries. It was a poor outing for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, as they will be looked upon in the decisive Game 7. As far as trends go, these rivals have played a Game 7 four times in their 11 previous Finals meetings, and Boston has won all of them. Still, that hasn’t happened since 1984 and it hasn’t happened to Bryant. Expect Bryant to get plenty of shots on Thursday night as he looks to stamp his name among the NBA’s greats in pursuit of his fifth championship.
None of Phil Jackson’s previous 10 NBA championships came down to a Game 7. The Lakers have only lost four finals home games in the last three seasons, so it doesn’t bode well for Boston in Los Angeles.
NBA Finals Game 7 Odds
Boston Celtics: 3.81 Titan Bet
Los Angeles Lakers: 1/3 Party Bets