As predicted, it was rough… it was low-scoring… and would you believe it came down to two perfect free throws by Slovenian Sasha Vujacic at the end of game 7 to secure back-to-back NBA Final Championships for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Boston Celtics opened the game with an early 10-point lead, but the Lakers kept it close and snuck right past their rivals in the final minutes to win the golden Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Big Game Butterflies
Swarming Celtics
The game was very strange. It started with a very low scoring game. Both teams were playing with so much intensity that no one could hit their jump shots. It was probably a big case of nerves and butterflies.
Game-Breakers
Rondo Running
Rajon Rondo led the Celtics in the first half. For a little guy he managed to get rebounds offensively and defensively. He was running the court with speed. He played aggressive and constantly drove the ball to the hoop scoring 14 points. He never gave up on a play and playing almost the whole game except for a quick 1-minute rest, he was by far the Celtics MVP.
Kobe Stuffed
Even though Kobe Bryant won MVP of the playoffs, he had an off game. Kobe just couldn’t hit his shots. In a game as big as game 7 in the NBA Final, Kobe probably should have chose to use his teammates more. The Celtics Ray Allen played him very tight and there was usually one Laker wide open when Kobe had the ball.
Let the Rough Stuff Ride
Referees Relaxed
The referees let them play. It was a physical game and the players were very rough. But the refs kept their whistles in their pockets. The Celtics led most of the game, but the Lakers came back in the 4th quarter.
4th Quarter Features
Kobe And 1
Kobe made an amazing play with 8 minutes left. Down by 4 points, in the corner behind the 3-point-line, Ray was playing him too close and Kobe jumped right into him to get 3 free throws and he made all 3.
Ron's Run
Ron Artest followed the Lakers momentum with an off-balance shot in the paint while jumping straight into Paul Pierce. He drew the foul and made the bucket to tie the game 61-61 and the game was tied for the first time since the 1st minute of the game.
All of a sudden Kobe goes on fire scoring 4 straight points with 5 minutes left to give the Lakers their first lead of the game and a 4-point lead.
Hoop and the Harm
The Lakers played smart in the last minutes of the game, faking shots and getting fouls. Points came very easy as the Lakers started to hit their foul shots down the stretch. Half of the Lakers points in the 4th quarter came from the free throw line.
Raining 3-Pointers
3 Point Parade
With the Lakers up 6 points with only 1:30 left to play, both teams started dropping 3-pointers.
- Rasheed Wallace for 3 made the game 73-76 for the Lakers
- Ron Artest from downtown restores a 6-point lead at 73-79
- Ray Allen answers from long range to cut it back down to 76-79
- Kobe tried to keep the raining 3’s going but he finally missed. Fortunately Kobe tracked down his rebound and got two more free throws putting the Lakers up 5 points 76-81
- Rajon hits a 3 after rebounding a Ray Allen miss and it’s only a two-point game 81-79
Down to the Wire
Sasha's Shots
Finally with just seconds left, the Celtics had to foul someone to stop the clock. Phil Jackson, the coach of the Lakers, wisely puts in unknown Sasha Vujacic who takes the foul and makes the final two points of the game to make it impossible for the Celtics to tie and the final ended 79-83 Lakers.
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