Even though it was an ugly Game 3 for both teams, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers came out with a 87-81 win over the Celtics putting Los Angeles just one game behind Boston in the series 2-1. Los Angeles is undefeated at home in the 2008 playoffs with a 9-0 record and with a win last night, the Lakers now have some confidence going into Game 4 knowing that they can beat Boston on their home court.I don't know if it was the jet lag from Boston to Los Angeles or if it was Los Angeles' defense in Game 3, but two of the three Boston PGA (Pierce, Garnett, Allen) Tour's players had one of the worst games of their careers. Garnett tied his playoff-low scoring 13 points and shooting 6-21 from the field while Pierce played even worse shooting 2-14 from the field to score an embarassing 6 points. Luckily Allen had his best game of the NBA Finals scoring 25 points, or the Celtics' 81 points could have been even lower.
I said that if Los Angeles was going to win Game 3, they needed to get more production off the bench and get to the free throw line more, especially Bryant. Well if Leon Powe was Boston's spark off bench in Game 2, Los Angeles' spark last night was Sasha Vujacic as he scored 20 points and helped the Lakers' bench outscore the Celtics' bench 29-21. As for only putting up 10 free throws in Game 2, the Lakers attempted 24 more free throws in Game 3 and Bryant got to the line much more making 11 out of 18.
Los Angeles should not be satisfied with their win last night because Garnett and Pierce played terrible games and yet Boston only lost by six points. Bryant played his heart out in Game 3, scoring 36 points and almost single handedly won the game because the Lakers' other two stars once again did not play well. With Pau Gasol scoring just nine points and Lamar Odom playing even worse with four points and five turnovers, Los Angeles needs those two guys to play better because I guarantee you Boston will come back in Game 4 with a better performance.
I believe that if Boston can lose by only six points on Los Angeles' home court after playing one of their worst games in the playoffs, imagine what could happen for the Celtics in Game 4 if Garnett and Pierce played the way they did in Game 1 and 2. I'm going to say that Boston will win the next game because I have lost hope of Odom becoming Los Angeles' x-factor after his poor performances so far in the NBA Finals and I don't believe that Bryant can continue to score 36 points every game against Boston's tough defense. As for the Celtics, Pierce grew up in Inglewood, CA, just a few miles from Los Angeles and I don't think he will disappoint his friends and family like he did in Game 3 when he scored 6 points. Pierce will do whatever it takes in Game 4 whether it means slowing down Bryant on defense one-on-one and/or score around 40 points, just as long as Boston wins to put them one win away from a World Championship.
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