NBA News

[abadani69]

Really, it wasn't Golden State's hot start that set the KeyArena scoreboard ablaze.

The Warriors were rolling before a spotlight on the scoreboard caught fire Sunday night. Seattle firefighters extinguished the flames, but not Golden State's offense.

Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington led the Warriors with 20 points apiece, and the highest-scoring team in the NBA jumped to a 19-point lead in the first quarter and coasted past the SuperSonics, 109-96 for their sixth straight win.

Golden State is 9-1 in its last 10 games, surging above .500 and quickly making fans forget the Warriors' 0-6 start.

"We came in with a focus to get on these guys early," Jackson said. "We were just able to stay on them. It definitely shows signs of growth."


The game was delayed about 15 minutes in the first quarter when arena officials noticed a small fire coming from a spotlight attached to the bottom of the scoreboard above the court and smoke shooting from the top.

The scoreboard was lowered just above the floor, firefighters used an extinguisher to put out the flames and detached the spotlight.

"It was kind of fun. I've never seen anything like that burning," Golden State's Andris Biedrins said.

The delay certainly didn't cool off the Warriors. Golden State led 17-8 at the time and only built on its lead after the fire was put out. The Warriors scored 14 of the next 18 points to take a 31-12 lead.

"You can't complain when you have a lead like that," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "Those (games) are the hardest ones to coach, to keep a lead. Teams makes comebacks, but I thought we kept the lead and did a good job of doing that."

Biedrins had 10 points and 10 rebounds before the first quarter ended. Four Warriors were in double figures by halftime.

Golden State led by as many as 26 in the first half, and 28 in the fourth quarter. All five starters finished in double figures and Kelenna Azubuike added 14 off the bench.

Biedrins finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Monta Ellis had 18, and Baron Davis finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. The Warriors hit 11 3-pointers, including seven in the first half.

"We're going to have nights like this when guys don't miss. Those guys came out early and hit every shot, especially from behind the 3," Seattle's Chris Wilcox said.

Two nights after becoming the last team in the NBA to win at home with a strong defensive effort against Indiana, the Sonics reverted to previous form with lax defense and poor shooting.

Seattle shot just 25 percent in the first quarter and 32 percent in the first half, in part due to the Warriors' improved defense that has kept four of their last five opponents under 100 points.

Rookie Kevin Durant, coming off a season-high 35 points against Indiana, missed his first six shots, went scoreless in the first half and finished with a meaningless six points. He missed 10 of 12 shots, including a dunk in the fourth quarter that landed in front of the Warriors' bench.

Wilcox and Earl Watson scored 16 each to lead Seattle. Rookie Jeff Green had 13.

"They're an excellent offensive team. It was too easy," Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "We need to play a lot better and a lot harder than we did tonight. The one thing that has probably been our most consistent trait has been effort. We've not played well a number of times, but we've played hard. It was difficult to find guys playing hard tonight."

About the only downside for Golden State was the loss of reserve guard Mickael Pietrus to a facial injury. Pietrus received an elbow to the face from Watson taking a charge in the second quarter. He was helped off the court with blood on a towel covering his face and was taken to a hospital for further examination.

Afterward, Nelson said they team believed Pietrus may have a broken nose, but he had not received word from the hospital.

Notes

The Sonics should have F Nick Collison available for their game Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers. Collison missed his third straight game on Sunday night after breaking his nose against the Lakers. Collison is expected to see a doctor Monday or Tuesday, and if cleared, expects to play Wednesday. ... Seattle's 41 points in the first half were the fewest allowed by Golden State this season. ... Referee Bob Delaney tossed a fan sitting behind the Warriors' bench in the fourth quarter. The fans was continually harassing Jackson.

[abadani69]

The Orlando Magic are playing so well that they even found a way to beat the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Hedo Turkoglu sparked a pivotal 9-0 run with a 3-pointer that put Orlando ahead to stay, then added a layup with 55 seconds left to lead the Magic to a 104-97 victory Sunday night.

The victory was Orlando's first on the road against the Lakers after 10 straight losses, including their last two visits to the Forum. They have won only three of the last 18 meetings overall and nine of 30 since joining the NBA in 1990.

"I knew coming in today, it was going to be a tough game for us," Dwight Howard said after the Lakers held him to 17 points. "Some nights, we have to get contributions from everybody on our team. I think we did a great job of staying composed through all the adversity that happened throughout the game and got a good win."

Orlando is 15-4 in its first season under coach Stan Van Gundy, matching the best start in the franchise's 19-year history. The Magic had the same record to begin the 1994-95 campaign and matched that the following season. Just four years ago, they opened 1-18.


Orlando also is 11 games over .500 for the first time since finishing the strike-delayed 1998-99 season 33-17, and leads the NBA with a 10-2 road mark.

Rashard Lewis led the Magic with 18 points. Backup point guard Carlos Arroyo wasn't with the club after returning to Orlando on Saturday night to be with his ill 3-year-old daughter, Gabriella. He also will miss the finale of the five-game road trip, which is at Golden State.

Turkoglu finished with 14 points, and is the only Orlando player to reach double figures in every game this season. He also leads the team with 99 fourth-quarter points.

Kobe Bryant scored 28 points for the Lakers, 19 in the first quarter. Lamar Odom had 19 points and 17 rebounds, and center Andrew Bynum blocked seven shots while helping neutralize Howard in the paint.

"I thought Andrew did a good job defensively and was able to contain Howard in there," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "That's a sub-par game I would guess for Howard, after all those write-ups we read about him."

Luke Walton's layup put Los Angeles ahead 91-89 with 5 1-2 minutes left. Teammate Jordan Farmar then forced Keith Bogans into a turnover and took off the other way on a fast break, feeding Odom for a slam dunk. But the basket was waived off because of a charging call against Farmar, who slammed into Keyon Dooling a split-second after dishing off.

"That was a big momentum change," Jackson said. "We got a steal and Jordy went down the court and drew a charge, instead of just moving the ball ahead and doing the right things on the 2-on-1 break. It turned into a four-point play because they took a basket away from us, and they came down and scored. Then Turkoglu hit a 3 to give them the lead, and it spiraled down from there."

The Magic led by as many as 10 points early in the third quarter before the Lakers pulled ahead 73-70 with an 18-5 run, capped by Vladimir Radmanovic's layup with 3:36 left in the period. Neither team led by more than three during an 11:06 span of the second half before J.J. Redick made a 3-pointer, two free throws and a 15-footer in a 63-second span to give Orlando an 85-80 lead with 8:23 to play.

"They executed better than we did," Bryant said. "We did a pretty good job on our rotations, but they just knocked down shots right in our face."

The Magic missed 11 of their first 15 shots while Los Angeles pulled out to a 23-15 lead, their biggest of the game. Bryant scored the last 11 points of the Lakers' opening run, making three shots from 3-point range in a 59-second span and following that with a slam dunk off an alley-oop pass by Derek Fisher.

Maurice Evans and Brian Cook faced their former teammates for the first time since getting traded to Orlando on Nov. 20 for Trevor Ariza. Evans played 21 minutes and had nine points, while Cook had three points in 9 minutes. Ariza, who has had less than 16 minutes of playing time since becoming a Laker, spent the entire game on the bench.

Notes

Orlando is 14-0 when leading after three quarters (9-0 on the road), and 11-0 when holding an opponent under 100 points. ... The Magic have never won a season series from the Lakers, but have a chance to remedy that when the Lakers visit Orlando on Feb. 8. ... The Magic, 10-for-30 from behind the 3-point arc, are now 8-2 when making 10 or more 3-point baskets. The Lakers were 8-for-29 on 3-point attempts. ... Orlando had a 25-24 advantage in assists, and improved to 11-0 under those circumstances.

[abadani69]

The Los Angeles Clippers chose to leave Jamaal Tinsley alone on the perimeter because Jermaine O'Neal was enough trouble in the low post.

They made the wrong choice.

Tinsley capitalized on the open looks, scoring 10 of his 29 points in the final 4:09 and leading the Indiana Pacers to a 101-95 victory on Sunday.

"I'm always confident when the ball is in my hands. I don't care if I miss eight or nine shots, I feel like the next one is going to go in," Tinsley said. "I've got to credit my coaching staff for leaving me out there when I miss a lot of shots so that I get an opportunity to take another one. They were doubling down on Jermaine, the guys made the extra pass, and they just went in today."

O'Neal had 20 points and 15 rebounds despite a sore right shoulder. The six-time All-Star was forced to sit out the final 2:19 of Friday night's 95-93 loss at Seattle after hurting himself setting a screen.


"Yesterday morning he wasn't able to get his arm above his shoulder, but we kept on working on it," coach Jim O'Brien said. "He was doubtful today, and I was actually planning on going without him. But I found out he could go, and he had a great game."

O'Neal was more concerned about his left knee Saturday morning than his shoulder. He missed five games prior to the Seattle contest because of swelling in the knee and his lower leg.

"Obviously, my knee has been a concern over the last two months, and I've been struggling to make moves, make shots, rebound and block shots," O'Neal said. "The Seattle game was actually the first time I didn't have pain in my knee in almost a year and a half, and today I didn't have any pain in my knee at all.

"My shoulder was about 85 percent," O'Neal added. "We iced it a lot yesterday, I took some Advil, iced it again this morning and was ready to go."

Chris Kaman had 22 points and 22 rebounds for the Clippers, who are 2-9 since a 104-89 win at Indiana on Nov. 7 that capped their 4-0 start. Sam Cassell, who scored 35 points that night, missed his second straight game with a strained left calf.

The Clippers' injury woes grew a bit worse when No.1 draft pick Al Thornton sprained his left ankle and left the game with 1:22 to go in the first half.

"It seems like it's one injury after another for this team," said Kaman, the only player to start all 15 games for the Clippers. "We can't make excuses, because every team in the NBA goes through that. But it has been ridiculous."

Tinsley hit a 3-pointer and a 19-footer 44 seconds apart to put the Pacers ahead to stay, then drained another 3-pointer with 1:56 remaining to put them ahead 96-90 and added a pair of free throws in the final minute.

Los Angeles used an 8-0 run to turn a four-point deficit into an 88-84 lead with 7:08 to play. Tim Thomas' nine-foot jumper capped the rally, but it would be the Clippers' last field goal until Corey Maggette's 3-pointer with 6 seconds left in the game.

Danny Granger beat the buzzer with an 11-footer in the lane to give the Pacers a 77-76 lead entering the fourth.

Indiana opened the game with an 11-0 spurt and extended the margin to as many as 18 on a 3-pointer by Troy Murphy that gave the Pacers a 39-21 lead with 10 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter. Kaman made one of two from the free throw line with 1.6 seconds left in the half to give the Clippers their first lead, 51-50.

Indiana was ahead 46-38 when Murphy committed a flagrant foul against Thornton with 3:46 left in the second quarter. Pacers coach Jim O'Brien received a technical foul for arguing that Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy was allowed to go out on the court to be a peacemaker while O'Brien was warned to stay in the coach's box.

The Clippers made only one of three free throws following the foul, but pulled even at 48 on a pair of foul shots by Tim Thomas that capped a 16-2 run with 1:22 left in the half. Thornton helped fuel the rally with eight points.

Notes

Maggette missed both free throws after the technical fouls against O'Brien and Tinsley, who got his for arguing a traveling call from James Capers. ... Mike Dunleavy Jr., who had 17 points, has been on the winning side in six of the 17 games he has played against his father's team in the NBA. The only other time in league history that a father coached against his son was Nov. 9, 1976, when the late Butch van Breda Kolff guided the New Orleans Jazz to a 110-99 home win against Jan van Breda Kolff's New York Nets.

[abadani69]

Amare Stoudemire scored 42 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 121-117 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night.

Stoudemire shot 15-for-24 from the field and 12-for-13 from the free throw line. He also had 13 rebounds.

Steve Nash had 18 points and 17 assists, and Shawn Marion added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns (14-4), who have won three straight.

Jermaine O'Neal scored a season-high 30 points on 14-for-20 shooting for the Pacers (9-10). Mike Dunleavy scored 22 points and Jamaal Tinsley had 19 points and 12 assists for Indiana.

It was Phoenix's fifth straight win in the series.

Nash made two free throws with 1:11 left to cut Indiana's lead to 117-115, then made a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to give the Suns a 118-117 lead.

Tinsley missed a spinning shot in close, and the Suns rebounded. With the shot clock winding down, Stoudemire's mid-range shot bounced up, then in with 6.5 seconds remaining to give the Suns a 120-117 advantage.

Indiana's Danny Granger missed a 3-pointer that could have tied the game, and the Suns rebounded to clinch the win.

Stoudemire scored 23 points to help the Suns take a 69-64 lead at halftime. The Suns led 66-51 in the second quarter, but the Pacers closed the half on a 13-3 run.

Phoenix led 96-90 at the end of the third quarter after leading by 12 points midway through the period.

Notes

Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said F Ike Diogu should be back in a few weeks. Diogu played only the first three games this season before tearing a calf muscle in his left leg. ... O'Neal is averaging 20.7 points and 12 rebounds in three games since he came back from knee and shoulder injuries. ... The Pacers were called for two technical fouls late in the third quarter -- one on David Harrison and one for defensive 3 seconds. ... Stoudemire notched his third consecutive double-double. ... Tinsley has posted 10 or more assists in eight of his last 10 games.

[abadani69]

Richard Hamilton scored 21 points to help the Detroit Pistons win their fifth straight, 91-76 over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night.

As has often been the case during Detroit's streak, the Pistons received balanced scoring, help from the bench and rebounded well, leaving New Orleans unable to slow them down by swarming defenders to a particular player.

Unlike the other games, though, Detroit was down by double-digits early and had to come back. The Pistons did so by shooting 52 percent in the second quarter to take the lead for good late in the opening half.

Chauncey Billups scored 18 for Detroit, while Rasheed Wallace had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Antonio McDyess, hitting nearly 60 percent of his shots this season, added 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

Tyson Chandler had 17 points and 22 rebounds for New Orleans, which had won three of its previous four games. Peja Stojakovic scored 19 points, hitting two 3-pointers to give him 51 for the season, the second-best mark in the NBA behind Orlando's Rashard Lewis (53). Chris Paul added 14 points.

The Hornets, who fell behind by nine early in the fourth quarter, could only get as close as 76-69 on Jackson's free throw with 6:02 to go.

Hamilton responded with a jumper at the other end, starting a 7-2 run, and Detroit ended up outscoring New Orleans 15-7 the rest of the way.

Detroit had won its previous four games by an average of 23.8 points, but it was the Hornets who built a large early lead. Chandler's alley-oop jam from Jannero Pargo capped a 13-0 run, and after Wallace made a pair of free throws, Stojakovic hit his second 3-pointer of the game to give New Orleans a 26-11 lead late in the opening quarter.

But after shooting only 30 percent during the first quarter, the Pistons regained the momentum with the help of reserves Jarvis Hayes and Lindsey Hunter, who combined for the first five points of the period, and Jason Maxiell, who had a pair of well-timed one-handed dunks as he soared to the basket to grab teammates' missed shots. The second sparked a 6-0 run that pulled Detroit to 38-37 late in the period.

Soon after, Billups caught Paul looking the other way and hit an uncontested 3-pointer to tie the game at 40. Billups then hit a pair of free throws to give the Pistons a 44-42 lead at halftime.

Notes

Hornets G Morris Peterson left the game early in the second half with a strained lower back muscle. ... Attendance was announced at 10,312. A sellout is 17,956. Back in Detroit, the Pistons have sold out their last 192 home games. ... The Hornets are 4-5 at home. ... David West had nine points, marking the first time this season he failed to score in double-figures.

[abadani69]

After an "awesome" offensive performance, Phoenix Suns coach Mike D'Antoni wondered whether his team could one day score on every possession. He admits it's a pipe dream. Opponents might call it a nightmare.

Leandro Barbosa scored 35 points, Canadian star Steve Nash had a season-high 18 assists and the Phoenix Suns set a season high in points, beating the Toronto Raptors 136-123 on Wednesday night.

"Offensively we were just awesome," D'Antoni said. "They're a good defensive team. They've been holding people to 43 per cent. They're good, but we just have a lot of weapons."

Shawn Marion had 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Suns, who have won four straight and 12 of their past 14. Amare Stoudamire had 25 points and six rebounds, failing to record his fourth straight double-double.

"We came out strong," Stoudamire said. "Shawn did a great job rebounding tonight, Leandro did a great job of shooting, Steve did a great job of distributing. It was an all-around game for us and we got the win."

Nash scored 10 points in his only appearance of the regular season in Canada, and received a loud ovation during the pregame introductions.

"For me, it's always nice to win in Canada," Nash said.

D'Antoni expects the Suns to eclipse the 136 mark before the season is out.

"We should be able to," he said. "We'll see. We want to keep getting better and keep people in the flow and get everybody individually good. We're almost there.

"We're not rolling yet on all cylinders. I don't even know if we can or not, it might just be a pipe dream to think we can score every time down. It just doesn't happen."

T.J. Ford, who had missed five of the past seven games because of a stinger in his left arm, scored 27 for Toronto, which had won four straight home games. Anthony Parker added 22, and Jose Calderon and Carlos Delfino had 14 points apiece.

Pacific Division-leading Phoenix has won seven straight against Toronto. The Raptors haven't beaten the Suns since a 101-94 victory at Phoenix on Feb. 10, 2004.

"Our transition defense was just horrible," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said. "The first four threes Barbosa made, we weren't near. It's just lack of communication."

Barbosa recovered from a 1-for-8 showing in Tuesday night's win at Indianapolis.

"Last night I didn't have a good game but today was different," Barbosa said.

Raptors forward Chris Bosh missed his fourth consecutive game with a strained groin, and forward Andrea Bargnani sat out for the second straight game with a hyperextended left knee.

Without its top two big men, Toronto kept it close for the first 15 minutes and trailed by just one, 37-36, when Nash returned in the second. Boris Diaw made a hook shot and Barbosa sandwiched 3-pointers around a layup by Ford, then added a driving layup to cap a 10-2 run that put the Suns ahead 47-38.

"We had nearly 40 assists for the third game in a row," Nash said. "When the ball moves, we're difficult to defend."

Grant Hill also finished with 17 points and nine assists for Phoenix.

Two 3-pointers by Delfino helped Toronto whittle it down to 61-56 at the half, but Phoenix opened the third with an 11-2 run and didn't let up, leading by as many as 23.

Notes

Barbosa scored a career-high 39 in a Nov. 10 victory at Orlando. ... The Raptors are 2-2 in the four games Bosh has missed. ... Toronto set season highs in points scored and points allowed.

[Rasputin]

پائو گاسول به لیکرز منتقل شد


پائو گاسول اولین بازیکن اسپانیایی است که در بازی سالانه ستارگان شرق و غرب آمریکا حضور داشته است
پائو گاسول، ستاره بسکتبال اسپانیا به تیم لس آنجلس لیکرز منتقل شد.
تیم ممفیس گریزلیز که گاسول از فصل 2001-2002 برای آن بازی می کرد، در برابر صدور مجوز انتقال این بازیکن، کومی براون و جارویس کریتنتون، دو بازیکن فصل جاری تیم لیکرز را دریافت کرد و همچنین دو حق جذب بازیکن در مرحله اول لاتاری بازیکنان تازه وارد به ان بی ای در سالهای 2008 و 2010 را نیز از لیکرز گرفت.

پائو گاسول 28 ساله که 213 سانتی متر قد و 118 کیلوگرم وزن دارد و در پستهای فوروارد قدرتی و سنتر بازی می کند، در تابستان سال 2001 از تیم بارسلونا به ممفیس منتقل شد و در طی شش و نیم فصل بازی برای ممفیس، بطور متوسط در هر بازی 18.8 امتیاز، 8.6 ریباند، 1.8 بلاک شات و 3.1 پاس منجر به گل کسب کرده است.

در عرصه رقابتهای بین المللی او در سال 2006 با تیم بسکتبال اسپانیا در مسابقات قهرمانی جهان به مدال طلا دست یافت و بعنوان ارزشمند ترین بازیکن مسابقات معرفی شد.

گاسول همچنین در سال 2007 هم با تیم اسپانیا مقام نایب قهرمانی اروپا را کسب کرد.

در لیگ بسکتبال حرفه ای آمریکا (NBA) هم، او در سال 2002 عنوان بهترین بازیکن تازه وارد مسابقات فصل 2001-2002 را به دست آورد و در سال 2006 به اولین بازیکن اسپانیایی بدل شد که در مسابقه سالانه ستارگان شرق و غرب (All Stars) حضور داشته است.

لیکرز برنده اصلی

گاسول در شرایطی به لیکرز منتقل شد که ممفیس از ضعیف ترین تیمهای NBA محسوب می شود.

اما در برابر لیکرز، در فصل جاری بطور غیرمنتظره ای عملکردی مثبت داشته است.

قسمت عمده این عملکرد مثبت بخاطر ارتقاء تلاش و کیفیت بازی اندرو باینام، سنتر 20 ساله لیکرز بود که حتی نظر کوبی برایانت، ستاره سرشناس بسکتبال آمریکا و لیکرز را نسبت به آینده این تیم تغییر داد.

اما باینام در روز 13 ژانویه از ناحیه زانو مصدوم شد که از آن پس، لیکرز در پنج مسابقه از نه مسابقه (تا پایان مسابقات روز جمعه 1 فوریه) شکست خورده است.



او به محض حضور در زمین حریفانمان را در زیر حلقه تهدید خواهد کرد


فیل جکسون، مربی لیکرز درباره گاسول

کوبی برایانت که بخاطر خالی شدن لیکرز از بازیکنان موثر، از انتهای فصل گذشته و در طی فصل جاری، بارها مسئولان تیم لیکرز را به بی تفاوتی در قبال آینده تیم خود متهم کرده بود، در واکنش به خبر انتقال گاسول گفت: "این نشان می دهد که باشگاه واقعا احساس تعهد می کند. این گام بزرگ است."

با این حال برایانت خواستار تلاش برای ارتقاء تیم در تابستان 2008 شد و گفت: "ما بازیکنان ذخیره بسیار خوبی داریم که می توانند همه کاری انجام دهند. اکنون زمان عمل کردن است."

فیل جکسون مربی لیکرز هم گفت: "ما در غیاب اندرو باینام، زیر حلقه ها به یک بازیکن امتیاز آور نیاز داریم. او به محض حضور در زمین حریفانمان را در زیر حلقه تهدید خواهد کرد، ضمن اینکه او پاس دهنده خوبی نیز هست."

لیکرز از سیستم تهاجمی موسوم به "حمله مثلثی" استفاده می کند که توانایی بازیکنان بلندقدتر در ارسال موفق پاس، در اجرای صحیح تاکتیک نقشی عمده دارد.

[Rasputin]

گارنت بهترین مدافع بسکتبال آمریکا



کوین گارنت، بازیکن بلندقد تیم بوستون سلتیکز بعنوان بهترین مدافع سال بسکتبال حرفه ای آمریکا انتخاب شد.
این بازیکن با 493 رای و با اختلافی زیاد نسبت به مارکوس کمبی، بهترین مدافع سال گذشته آمریکا، به این مقام دست یافت.

این بازیکن که پس از 12 سال در تیم مینه سوتا، در فصل جاری به تیم بوستون منتقل شد، این تیم را از یک تیم متوسط در دفاع، به بهترین تیم دفاعی در لیگ بسکتبال حرفه ای آمریکا تبدیل کرد.

در حالیکه در فصل گذشته نزدیک به 47 درصد پرتابهای حریفان بوستون در مصاف با این تیم درون سبد قرار می گرفت، در فصل جاری این آمار به تقریبا 42 درصد کاهش پیدا کرده که بالاترین آمار در سطح لیگ NBA محسوب می شود.

همچنین در فصل گذشته حریفان بوستون به طور متوسط 99.2 امتیاز در هربازی مقابل این تیم کسب می کردند، در حالیکه در سال جاری این رقم به 90.3 امتیاز کاهش یافته است.

به نظر می رسد این مسئله یکی از مهمترین دلایلی بوده است که بوستون در فصل جاری در 42 مسابقه بیشتر از فصل گذشته پیروز شد.

گارنت در هنگام دریافت جایزه، دلیل اصلی این انتخاب را اینطور شرح داد: "من [با بازیکنان دیگر] صحبت می کنم. من می فهمم که دفاع چطور کار می کند. در هنگام دفاع ارتباط بین بازیکنان مهمترین مسئله است."

این بازیکن 32 ساله که دو متر و یازده سانتی متر قد دارد، بطور متوسط در هر بازی 1.2 بلاک شات، 1.4 توپ دزدی، 9.2 ریباند و 18.8 امتیاز کسب می کند.

او در کنفرانس خبری گفت: "من هم تیمی ها و مربیانم را دور هم جمع کردم و گفتم وقتی یک تیم عملکرد مناسیب دارد، می توان هرکسی در آن تیم را [بعنوان بهترین مدافع] انتخاب کرد. دفاع یک نفره نیست. دفاع کاملا یک کار تیمی است."

[Rasputin]

Celtics, Lakers open NBA Finals in Beantown

(Sports Network) - One of the greatest rivalries in sports will be renewed in the 2008 NBA Finals, as the Boston Celtics host the Los Angeles Lakers tonight in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series.

The first two games of the series will be played at TD Banknorth Garden, while Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) will take place at the Staples Center. If the set goes to a sixth and seventh game, Boston would host those contests.

Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday evening.

This is the 11th time these storied franchises will square off in the championship round. Boston has won eight of the 10 previous matchups in the finals. The Celtics defeated the Lakers in 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969 and 1984. However, LA has won the last two meetings as it beat Boston in six games in 1985 and 1987.

Some of the greatest players to ever lace up a pair of sneakers have participated in this historic rivalry. Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, Dennis Johnson, John Havlicek, K.C. Jones, Sam Jones, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Bill Russell are some of the great Celtics who have been part of the intense championship battles between these two squads, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Jamaal Wilkes and James Worthy were there for the Lakers.

Boston is appearing in the NBA Finals for the 20th time and has won 16 titles.

The Celtics had the biggest turnaround in NBA history during the regular season, as they finished a league-best 66-16, a 42-win turnaround from a season ago. They struggled in rounds one and two, needing seven games to oust Atlanta in the quarters and Cleveland in the semis.

Boston's Big Three of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce got some much needed help from center Kendrick Perkins, swingman James Posey and guard Rajon Rondo in Boston's six-game series victory over Chauncey Billups and the second- seeded Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals.

Garnett, 32, leads the Celtics in scoring (21.1 ppg) and rebounding (9.8 rpg) in the playoffs, while Pierce is averaging 19.0 points, 5.1 boards and 4.1 assists per game. Allen has struggled the majority of the postseason, but has managed to find his shooting stroke at crucial times. The 32-year-old Allen has posted 14.2 points and is shooting 40.3 percent from the field, including 34 percent from beyond the arc.

The 22-year-old Rondo has posted 10.5 points and a team-best 6.6 assists in the postseason, while Perkins has averaged 7.2 points and 6.8 rebounds. Posey has drained some big shots and has been tough on defense for Boston.

Each of the Big Three will be appearing in the NBA Finals for the first time in their careers. They are all All-Star players and have received much recognition throughout their storied careers, but a victory over the Lakers would be the most impressive entry on their resumes.

Doc Rivers finished his fourth season as the general for the Celtics, and has led Boston to the postseason for the second time. The Celtics fell in seven games in the 2005 first round to the Pacers. Rivers is coaching in his fifth postseason, as he also guided the Magic to the playoffs three times during his tenure in Orlando. He owns a 20-22 record in the playoffs.

Boston is 10-1 at home and 2-7 on the road in this year's playoffs.

The Lakers, who were the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs, are appearing in the NBA Finals for the 23rd time since moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1961. LA is 9-13 in the championship round and has an overall record of 59-67 in games played in the NBA Finals.

It is the 29th time in franchise history the Lakers have made it to the championship round, as they were 5-1 in this round as the Minneapolis Lakers.

The Lakers, who captured the Pacific Division crown during the regular season, had no problem winning the opening round of the playoffs. They swept Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and the eighth-seeded Nuggets, 4-0. In the semis, Los Angeles needed six games to eliminate Carlos Boozer and the fourth-seeded Utah Jazz.

In the West finals, LA showed why it was the best team in the conference. The Lakers ousted Tim Duncan and the defending world champion San Antonio Spurs in five games to advance to their first NBA Finals since 2004.

LA was stunned in five games by the Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, the Lakers did win three consecutive titles from 2000-02. They are 6-3 in their last nine appearances in the championship round

The 29-year-old Bryant, who won his first NBA MVP this season, has done it all for the Lakers all season. He is averaging 31.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists in the playoffs. He is shooting 50.9 percent from the floor and 81.4 percent from the charity stripe.

A 10-time All-Star, Bryant has played in 146 playoff games during his career. He has posted averages of 24.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists in the postseason. The superstar guard is appearing in his fifth NBA Finals.

The Lakers became one of the elite teams in the league when they pulled off one of the big trades of the campaign. On February 1, the Lakers acquired seven-foot Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for center Kwame Brown, guard Javaris Crittenton, guard Aaron McKie, the draft rights to Marc Gasol and first round picks in 2008 and 2010.

Pau Gasol, who was 0-12 in playoff games with the Grizzlies, has been huge for the Lakers since joining the club. The 27-year-old Spaniard is the low- post scorer LA desperately needed, and has been the perfect compliment to Bryant. He is averaging 17.7 points, 8.9 boards and 4.2 assists in the postseason.

Veteran guard Derek Fisher, who won three championships (2000-02) with the Lakers, has played in 148 playoff games during his career. Jordan Farmar Fisher, Lamar Odom, Vladimir Radmanovic, Sasha Vujacic and Luke Walton have all done their part to help LA get back to the finals.

Odom is averaging 14.7 points and a team-best 10.3 rebounds in the playoffs, while the 33-year-old Fisher has netted 10.0 per game and has made plenty of clutch shots during LA's playoff run.

Head coach Phil Jackson obviously knows how to win in the playoffs. Jackson has won nine championship rings as a coach. He led the Lakers to three titles in his first four years in Los Angeles, and guided the Bulls to six championships. He is an incredible 191-80 in the postseason.

The Lakers are a perfect 8-0 at home and 4-3 as the visitor in the 2008 playoffs.

During the regular season, the Celtics won a pair of contests between the squads. Boston defeated the Lakers 107-94 on November 23 in Beantown, and 110-91 on December 30 at the Staples Center. However, both games were played before the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol.

[Rasputin]

فینال با برتری بوستون آغاز شد


آسیب دیدگی و بازگشت پال پیرس به میدان باعث تقویت روحیه تیم بوستون شد
نبرد سنتی دو تیم لس انجلس لیکرز و بوستون سلتیکز در فینال فصل لیگ بسکتبال حرفه ای آمریکا (NBA) با برتری بوستون آغاز شد.
بوستون در مسابقه اول فینال که در زمین این تیم برگزار شد با کمک پال پیرس کاپیتان خود لیکرز را 98-88 شکست داد تا گمی عمده در جهت کسب برتری روحی برداشته باشد.

پیرس با کسب 22 امتیاز سهمی عمده در این پیروزی داشت اما مهمتر از امتیازها حادثه ای بود که به واسطه آن پیرس روحیه تیم خود را بالا برد.

در میانه مسابقه و در حالی که 6 دقیقه و 49 ثانیه به پایان کوارتر سوم بازی مانده بود و لیکرز 62-58 از میزبان پیش بود، برخورد اتفاقی کندریک پرکینز، سنتر بوستون با پشت پال پیرس، این بازیکن را به زمین انداخت.

وقتی پیرس با چهره ای حاکی از درد، زانوی خراست خود را در دستانش گرفت، وحشت بازیکنان بوستون را فراگرفته بود، از آن رو که این بازیکن در گذشته از همین ناحیه متحمل صدمات عمده ای شده بود.

داک ریورز مربی بوستون پس از مسابقه اذعان کرد که در آن لحظه "بدترین اتفاق رخ داده است."

پیرس روی دست بازیکنان بوتون به رختکن منتقل شد تا پزشکان زانوی او را بررسی کنند.

اما تنها یک دقیقه بعد و وقتی بوستون بازی را به تساوی کشیده بود، بازگشت پیرس به کنار زمین و حضور مجدد او در صحنه نبرد، روحیه بوستون را به شدت افزایش داد.

او نه تنها فورا به زمین مسابقه بازگشت بلکه در اواخر کوارتر سوم و در میان تشویق بیش از 18 هزار تماشاچی طرفدار بوستون با پرتاب دو سه امتیازی پیاپی در ظرف 22 ثانیه سهمی عمده در برتری 77-73 بوستون در پایان این کوارتر داشت.

در راه پیروزی کوین گارنت فوروارد بلند قد بوستون با 24 امتیاز و 13 ریباند، و ری آلن گارد شوتزن بوستون با 19 امتیاز پال پیرس را یاری کردند.

اما در سو دیگر میدان، کوبی برایانت با به ثمر رساندن تنها 9 پرتاب از 26 پرتاب خود شبی بد را پشت سر گذاشت و 24 امتیاز او نتوانست برای لیکرز به ویژه در کوارتر چهارم کاری از پیش ببرد.

بازی اول دو تیم صحنه رقابتی بسیار نزدیک ود و بازیکنان هیچ یک از دو تیم نتوانستند بدون مزاحمت مدافعان توپی را درون سبد حریف بیندازند.

حضور 5 بازیکن غیرآمریکایی در تیم لیکرز باعث شده برای اولین بار در تاریخ مسابقات فینال بسکتبال حرفه ای آمریکا، 280 موسسه رسانه ای از 35 کشور مختلف به گزارش مسابقات فینال بپردازند و تصاویر این مسابقات در 205 کشور جهان پخش شود.

در سال 1987 آخرین باری که این دو تیم در فینال NBA با یکدیگر روبرو شده بودند، مسابقات تنها در 28 کشور جهان پخش می شد.

قهرمان مسابقات فصل بسکتبال امریکا برای کسب عنوان قهرمانی باید در چهار مسابقه از هفت مسابقه فینال پیروز شود.

[Rasputin]

بوستون تسلیم لیکرز نشد


لیان پو بازیکن ذخیره بوستون در 14 دقیقه 21 امتیاز کسب کرد 13 بار پشت خط پرتاب آزاد قرار گرفت
در مسابقه دوم لیگ بسکتبال آمریکا
(NBA) بوستون فشار حملات دقایق آخر لیکرز را تحمل کرد تا با پیروزی 108 به 102 مقابل لیکرز در مجموع مسابقات فینال 2-0 از لیکرز پیش بیفتد.
در این مسابقه که در زمین بوستون برگزار شد، در فاصله کمتر از هشت دقیقه به پایان بازی، لیکرز 24 امتیاز از میزبان عقب بود (95-71)، اما با شدت گرفتن فشار تهاجمی لیکرز، که به نظر می رسید با فریادهای کوبی برایانت بر سر هم تیمی های خود آغاز شده باشد، در فاصله 38 ثانیه به پایان مسابقه، اختلاف به 2 امتیاز کاهش پیدا کرد (104-102).

اما پال پیرس کاپیتان بوستون با خطایی که درک فیشر گارد لیکرز بر روی او مرتکب شد، صاحب دو پرتاب آزاد شد و پس از به ثمر رساندن آنها، در حالیکه 14 ثانیه بیشتر به پایان مسابقه نمانده بود، پرتاب سه امتیازی ساشا ووجاچیچ، گارد شوتزن لیکرز را سد کرد.

ضربه نهایی را جیمز پوزی، فوروارد بوستون با پرتاب دو پنالتی به لیکرز وارد کرد.

لیکرز که میزبان سه مسابقه بعدی فینال خواهد بود، در شرایط مناسبی قرار ندارد؛ در تاریخ مسابقات فینال بسکتبال حرفه ای آمریکا، تنها سه تیم بوستون (1969)، پورتلند (1977) و میامی (2006) توانسته اند پس از تحمل دو شکست، در مجموع هفت مسابقه به پیروزی برسند.

اما از سوی دیگر این تیم از روز 28 مارس سال جاری (از جمله در طول مسابقات مرحله حذفی) در هیچ مسابقه ای در زمین خود نباخته است.

در این مسابقه پال پیرس 28 امتیاز و 8 پاس منجر به گل به نام خود ثبت کرد اما دو بازیکن جوان بوستون از دیگران بیشتر درخشیدند.

لیان پو، بازیکن ذخیره بوستون که سال دوم حضور خود در مسابقات NBA را می گذراند، در 14 دقیقه حضور در زمن 21 امتیاز کسب کرد و روجان راندو، گارد راس سال اولی این تیم 16 پاس منجر به گل داد.

از سوی دیگر در لیکرز کوبی برایانت با 30 امتیاز، 8 پاس منجر به گل و 3 توپ ربایی تنها بود و پس از او موثرترین بازیکن، پائو گاسول بود که 17 امتیاز و 10 ریباند کسب کرد.

انتقاد تند فیل جکسون

پس از مسابقه فیل جکسون، مربی سرشناس لیکرز با استناد به آمار پرتابهای آزاد دو تیم به شدت داوری مسابقه را مورد انتقاد قرار داد.

بازیکنان بوستون در طی مسابقه 38 بار به دلیل خطاهای اعلام شده علیه بازیکنان حریف، پشت خط پرتاب آزاد قرار گرفتند، در حالیکه لیکرز تنها 10 پرتاب پنالتی انجام داد.

فیل جکسون داوران را به نادیده گرفتن خطای بازیکنان بوستون متهم کرد و گفت: "من از اینکه لیان پو در 14 دقیقه بازی از کل تیم ما بیشتر پنالتی پرتاب کرد شوکه شده ام."

"با چنین اختلافی [در اعلام خطا و پرتابهای آزاد] نمی شود بازی کرد. در نیمه اول آنها 19 پنالتی زدند و ما 2 تا. در تمام این سالهایی که من در مسابقات فینال مربی گری کرده ام هرگز چنین چیزی ندیده ام."

"باورنکردنی است."

با این حال این مربی نقش بازیکنان خود در باخت را انکار نکرد.

او گفت "مرتب به آنها می گفتم: از این بدتر نمی توانیم بازی کنیم."

بوستون در مسابقه اول فینال که در زمین این تیم برگزار شد با کمک پال پیرس کاپیتان خود لیکرز را 98-88 شکست داد تا گامی عمده در جهت کسب برتری روحی برداشته باشد.

قهرمان مسابقات فصل بسکتبال امریکا برای کسب عنوان قهرمانی باید در چهار مسابقه از هفت مسابقه فینال پیروز شود.

[Rasputin]

لیکرز حفظ آبرو کرد


ساپا ووجاچیچ کلید پیروزی لیکرز بود و بجز کوبی برایانت تنها بازیکنی بود که برای لیکرز بیش از 10 امتیاز کسب کرد
تغییر رنگ لباس ها و زمین بازی روند فینال را تغییر داد.
در فینال مسابقات بسکتبال حرفه ای آمریکا (NBA)، لیکرز که رو در روی مانعی تاریخی فرار داشت، با کسب پیروزی 87-81 مقابل بوستون برای قهرمانی خود امید ایجاد کرد.

بوستون که در دو بازی اول مسابقات فینال لیکرز را در زمین خود شکست داده بود، در زمین لیکرز با مانعی بزرگ به نام کوبی برایانت برخورد کرد.

این بازیکن که به عنوان ارزشمندترین بازیکن فصل بسکتبال آمریکا شناخته شده 36 امتیاز کسب کرد و عملکرد دفاعی او نقشی عمده در پیروزی لیکرز داشت.

او در حساس ترین مقاطع و هر زمان که لازم بود لیکرز امتیاز کسب کند، اختیار بازی را در دست می گرفت، به سوی سبد بوستون می رفت و با اعتماد به نفس از هر نقطه ای که می خواست، توپ را درون سبد بوستون قرار می داد.

لیکرز که در هشت بازی قبلی در مرحله حذفی در زمین خود از هیچ تیمی شکست نخورده بود، تقریبا هشت دقیقه مانده به پایان مسابقه از حریف با اختلاف دو امتیاز عقب بود (68-66)، اما یک پرتاب سه امتیازی از کوبی برایانت نتیجه را به سود لیکرز تغییر داد و پس از آن لیکرز با فشار دفاعی هفت امتیاز از خریف پیش افتاد (70-77).

بوستون با کسب چهار امتیاز از سوی پال پیرس (کاپیتان) و شوتی از سوی کوین گارنت خود را به دو امتیازی لیکرز رساند (76-7، اما ساپا ووجاچیچ، گارد صربستانی لیکرز کار را تمام کرد.

در حالیکه یک دقیقه و 53 ثانیه بیشتر به پایان مسابقه نمانده بود، ووجاچیچ با یک پرتاب سه امتیازی از گوشه سمت چپ سبد بوستون، لیکرز را پنج امتیاز پیش انداخت تا بوستون دیگر نتواند خود را به لیکرز نزدیک کند.

لیکرز به وضوح در دفاع بهتر بود و قرار گرفتن کوبی برایاینت به عنوان یار دفاعی پال پیرس (که بطور متوسط در دو بازی قبل 25 امتیاز کسب کرده بود) عامل اصلی متوقف کردن بوستون بود.

پیرس تحت فشار دفاع برایانت از 14 پرتاب خود تنها دو پرتاب را به ثمر رساند و در مجموع شش امتیاز کسب کرد.

کوین گارنت هم شرایط بهتری نداشت و شش پرتاب از 21 پرتاب خود را درون سبد لیکرز قرار داد.

با این حال در لیکرز هم شرایط عالی نبود واین تیم تنها به واسطه اعتماد به نفس ساشا ووجاچیچ و کسب 20 امتیاز (از جمله سه پرتاب سه امتیازی حساس) توانست بوستون را شکست دهد.

بر خلاف مسابقه دوم، بیشتر سوت ها به سود لیکرز زده شد و این تیم 34 بار پشت خط پرتاب آزاد قرار گرفت (در برابر 22 پرتاب بوستون).

اما نزدیک ماندن نتیجه با وجود عملکرد تهاجمی ضعیف بوستون، برای لیکرز نوید بخش نبود.

پائو گاسول ستاره اسپانیایی لیکرز تنها 9 امتیاز کسب کرد (در کنار 12 ریباند) و هیچکدام از دیگر بازیکنان لیکرز نتوانستند بالای 10 امتیاز به دست بیاورند.

در طی سه بازی گذشته عملکرد بازیکنان ذخیره و برخی از بازیکنان اصلی لیکرز به شدت از سوی کارشناسان و مفسران مورد انتقاد قرار گرفته و آنها متهم به کم کاری و نداشتن روحیه جنگندگی به ویژه در دفاع شده اند.

اما از سوی دیگر ری آلن، بازیکن شوتزن بوستون که 25 امتیاز (از جمله پنج پرتاب سه امتیازی) به دست آورد، از نتیجه مسابقه راضی بود.

او گفت: "هر چقدر هم که بد بازی کردیم، هنوز موقعیت برای برد داشتیم. این نکته مثبت بود."

اگر لیکرز در این بازی شکست می خورد قهرمانی بوستون تقریبا مسجل شده بود چرا که در تاریخ مسابقات مرحله حذفی NBA، هیچ تیمی نتوانسته است نتیجه 3-0 باخته را به پیروزی 3-4 تبدیل کند و در مجموع هفت مسابقه پیروز شود.

بازی چهارم فینال چهارشنبه شب (به وقت محلی) برگزار خواهد شد.

[abadani69]

[abadani69]

With Russell and Havlicek sitting courtside, and Red surely lighting up a victory cigar somewhere, these Boston Celtics returned to glory like the great teams before them.

Dominant in every way.

On a new parquet floor below aging championship banners hung in the rafters two decades back, the Celtics won their 17th NBA title and a first one—at last — for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen—their Big Three for a new generation.

After 22 long years, the NBA has gone green.

Lifted by ear-splitting chants of “Beat L.A.” early and cries of “Seven-teen” in the closing seconds by their adoring crowd, the Celtics concluded a shocking rebound of a season with a stunning 131-92 blowout over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 on Tuesday night.

“It means so much more because these are the guys, the Havliceks, the Bill Russells, the Cousys,” Pierce said. “These guys started what’s going on with those banners. They don’t hang up any other banners but championship ones.

“And now I’m a part of it.”

With the outcome assured, Boston fans sang into the night as if they were in a pub on nearby Canal Street. They serenaded the newest champs in this city of champs, and taunted Kobe Bryant and his Lakers, who drowned in a green-and-white wave for 48 minutes.

Garnett scored 26 points with 14 rebounds, Allen scored 26 and Pierce, the finals MVP who shook off a sprained right knee sustained in Game 1, added 17 as the Celtics, a 24-win team a year ago, wrapped up their first title since 1986.

Rajon Rondo had 21 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and six steals as the Celtics, who built a 23-point halftime lead and obliterated the Lakers, who were trying to become the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the finals.

They didn’t stand a chance.

Boston’s 39-point win surpassed the NBA record for the biggest margin of victory in a championship clincher; the Celtics beat the Lakers 129-96 in Game 5 of the 1965 NBA finals.

In the final minute, Pierce doused Celtics coach Doc Rivers with red Gatorade. Owner Wyc Grousbeck, who named his group Banner 17 to leave no doubt about his goal, put an unlit cigar in his mouth—a tribute to Auerbach, the patriarch who had a hand in the franchise’s first 16 titles.

Garnett dropped to the parquet and kissed the leprechaun at center court and then found Russell, the Hall of Famer who taught him the Celtic way, for a long embrace.

“I got my own. I got my own,” Garnett said. “I hope we made you proud.”

“You sure did,” Russell said.

Rivers pulled Pierce, Garnett and Allen with 4:01 left and they shared a group hug with their coach, who was nearly run out of town last season. Rivers lost his father at the beginning of this remarkable run, a season no one expected.

By the time Rivers was handed the Larry O’Brien Trophy, it was June 18—his late father’s birthday.

When the game clock reached zeros, Rivers reflected on his dad.

“My first thought was what would my dad say,” Rivers said, “and honestly I started laughing because I thought he would probably say, if you knew my dad, `It’s about time. What have you been waiting for?”’

It’s was Boston’s first title since the passing of Auerbach, whose presence was the only thing missing on this night. Even Auerbach, who died in 2006, got some satisfaction. Led by Rivers, Auerbach’s beloved team denied Lakers coach Phil Jackson from overtaking him with a 10th championship.

The Boston-Los Angeles rivalry, nothing more than black-and-white footage from the 60s and TV highlights of players wearing short shorts in the 80s to young hoops fans, remains tilted toward the Atlantic Ocean. The Celtics are 9-2 against the Lakers in the finals.

Boston missed its first crack at closing out the series in Game 5, but the Celtics didn’t miss on their second swing, running the Lakers out of the gym.

Bryant, the regular season MVP, finished with 22 points on 7-of-22 shooting.

He started 4-of-5 from the field and seemed intent on forcing a Game 7. But he missed seven shots in a row and everywhere he went, L.A.’s No. 24 ran smack into a wall of Boston defense as high as the Green Monster.

“They were definitely the best defense I’ve seen the entire playoffs,” Bryant said. “I’ve seen some pretty stiff ones and this was right up there with them. The goal was to win a championship, it wasn’t to win MVP or anything like that, it was to win a championship.”

Garnett and Allen were All-Stars in other cities, stuck in Minnesota and Seattle, respectively, on teams going nowhere. But brought together in trades last summer by Celtics general manager Danny Ainge, a member of the ‘86 Celtics champions, they joined Pierce and formed an unbreakable bond, a trio as tight as the club’s lucky shamrock logo.

They resisted being called The Big Three, a nickname given to Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish two decades ago.

“This is the reason we came here,” Garnett said. “This is the reason we got together, and Danny made it go down. This is it right now.”

With Garnett scoring 17 points and Pierce adding 10, Boston built a 58-35 halftime lead, and unlike Game 2 when they let the Lakers trim a 24-point lead to two in the fourth quarter before recovering, the Celtics never stopped.

They pushed their lead to 31 in the third, and with Boston still up by 29 after three, plastic sheets started going up in the Celtics’ locker room in preparation for a champagne celebration.

No team had to work harder for a championship than these Celtics, who were playing in their record 26th postseason game after being pushed to seven games by Atlanta and Cleveland before taking care of Detroit in six to win the Eastern Conference title.

They entered Game 6 slowed by injuries as Pierce, Kendrick Perkins (shoulder) and Rondo (ankle) were less than 100 percent. There was also uncertainty surrounding Allen, who stayed behind in Los Angeles following Game 5 after his youngest son became ill and was diagnosed with diabetes. The Celtics needed three planes to get back from L.A. and didn’t get home until late Monday night.

But there were no excuses, and just as they had while winning 66 games during the regular season, the Celtics got plenty of help from their bench as P.J. Brown, James Posey, Leon Powe and rookie Glen “Big Baby” Davis came in and contributed.

It was a group effort by this gang in green, which bonded behind Rivers, who borrowed an African word ubuntu (pronounced Ooh-BOON-too) and roughly means “I am, because we are” in English, as the Celtics’ unifying team motto.

The Celtics gave the Lakers a 12-minute crash course of ubuntu in the second quarter.

Boston outscored Los Angeles 34-19, getting 11 field goals on 11 assists. The Celtics toyed with the Lakers, outworking the Western Conference’s best inside and out and showing the same kind of heart that made Boston the center of pro basketball’s universe in the ’60s.

House and Posey made 3-pointers to put the Celtics ahead by 12 points and baskets by Pierce, Garnett and Rondo put Boston ahead by 18.

In the final minute, Garnett floated in the lane, banked in a one-handed runner and was fouled. His free throw made it 56-35, and after Perkins scored, the Celtics ran to the locker room leading by 23.

On his way off the floor, Garnett screamed, “That’s that.”

And so it was.

Notes

The Lakers had won their previous eight straight Game 6s in the finals. … Since the finals began in 1947, 16 have gone seven games, the most recent in 2005 when San Antonio had to go the distance to beat Detroit. … It was the second biggest margin in finals history behind Chicago’s 96-54 win over Utah in 1998. … The Celtics went 48-7 at home, including 13-1 in the postseason.

[abadani69]

year ago today, the Boston Celtics were a hapless, hopeless cabal. Kevin Garnett wouldn’t consider leaving a 32-win lottery team to join them. In terms of relevance and water-cooler chat, the Celtics were on par with Ivy League squash.

On Thursday, they will be treated like royalty in Boston, complete with the now obligatory Duck Boat tour and parade through the meandering downtown streets to celebrate their 17th NBA championship. There will be hundreds of thousands of fans, and, had you been asleep for the last 11 months, it would be a definite, back-to-the-future moment. Where’s Larry? Where’s Kevin? Where’s Red?

That is why this latest NBA championship has its own, special place in Celtics history. There really was none like it among the previous 16, most of which were won by a team with presumptive greatness going into the season and previous achievement on their résumés. This one? Who knew?

It happened so fast and so implausibly as if it was in its own time warp. How could a 24-win team turn around in one year and turn away all comers, finishing with a Secretariat-in-the-Belmont flourish against their most storied and dreaded rival?

The 131-92 humiliation of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night ended a 22-year championship drought for Boston. But “drought” is a relative term here, compared with another city’s famine and pestilence. Atlanta, for goodness sakes, hasn’t won a single, best-of-seven series since 1970. Garnett’s old team, the Timberwolves, has won only two best-of-seven series in its history (and both in the same year) and has now gone four years without seeing the playoffs.

Those situations mirrored the Celtics’ situation last year at this time. You put Boston right in the same basket with all the other clueless wannabes for whom a May date in Secaucus was as much of a yearly lock as the coming of the seasons and the turning of the leaves. As late as March of 2006, coach Doc Rivers was saying the Celtics didn’t need high-priced veterans; that their young talent was growing, improving and one day would be the envy of the NBA. That team won 33 games and the next one won 24 games, second-worst only to Memphis. But when the 2007 ping-pong balls did not deliver Greg Oden or Kevin Durant to Boston, the team used the next six weeks to try and turn dross into gold.

Danny Ainge, the man entrusted with the job of delivering a title to Boston, wasn’t so much of a trader over that span as he was a sports alchemist. He picked up Ray Allen, Garnett, kept Paul Pierce, and somehow managed to convince two teams that his 24-win roster was so chock-a-block with promising players and expiring contracts as to make the deals look even. Or close to even. That he did speaks as much to the aptitude of his colleagues and their respective, dire situations as it does to Ainge’s brilliant bargaining. But either one of those deals would have fallen apart had Sam Presti in Seattle or Kevin McHale in Minnesota demanded that Ainge surrender Rajon Rondo. Both asked. Both were told “no way.” Both eventually relented.

But while the fans, ticket buyers and Vegas wise guys went wild after the Garnett trade, there were legitimate concerns about where the 2007-08 Celtics might wind up. They’d be better, for sure. They’d be a playoff team, for sure. They might even get home-court advantage for the first round.

But could they also be like those Sonics’ teams of the 1980s with Tom Chambers, Xavier McDaniel and Dale Ellis – good but not great? Or the Denver teams in the early 1980s with Alex English, Kiki Vandeweghe and Dan Issel – prolific at one end of the floor, pathetic at the other? If Garnett was so good, how come he couldn’t get his team into the playoffs?

Now, those observations look silly. At the time, they were as valid as any other because the team had done nothing. It looked good on paper. But, after adding key free agents like James Posey and Eddie House, the 2007-08 Celtics had nine new players on their roster. Nine! It would add two more before the season was out. It had a coach who had never won a playoff series and its three mainstays all had failed to make the playoffs the previous season. Two of those three also missed significant time in the 2006-07 season with injuries. All were in their 30s with a lot of miles on their respective bodies.

But, as Rivers noted in the glow of Wednesday morning, “we got them at the right time.” He’s right. It was a lot easier sale when all you had to do was hold up the 2007 NBA Standings in front of those three to make your point. All three were hungry – voracious, really. They had to stay healthy and, for the most part, they did. They had to stay committed and they did, never wavering. And they had to learn to play a new system, with new teammates, learning on the fly. They did that, too.

There’s really no parallel in Celtics history for what we just witnessed. The Celtics’ teams of the 1950s were already playoff-caliber when Red Auerbach worked his magic to acquire Bill Russell. The teams of the 1970s were built brick-by-brick, with draft picks (Dave Cowens, JoJo White, Don Chaney) and trades (Paul Silas.)

The situation in Celtics history, which comes the closest to 2008, was in 1978-79, the year before Larry Bird arrived. That team was uniformly horrible and had the added distinction of being utterly dysfunctional. Bird and M.L. Carr were the promising newcomers in 1979 and Nate Archibald was the returning-to-good-health veteran. It took that unit two years to win a title.

It took this group only one. That was Rivers’ message from the start – seize the moment because we can’t afford to wait. He told Garnett, Allen and Pierce that they have to play the 2007-08 season as if it’s their one and only chance to win. Because, in reality, it might be. Yes, all three guys are signed for multiple years going forward, but all that really means is that they’ll get paid.

Who knows what next season’s Celtics will look like? The starting five will be back, but key subs Posey and House are free agents and P.J. Brown can now retire for good, knowing he went out with a bang. But Garnett, Pierce, Allen and Rivers have made Boston relevant again, a desirable destination for veterans who want to have a chance to win. (Or, in Posey’s case, win again.) The San Antonio Spurs have had that cachet for the last decade. The Portland Trail Blazers might have that cachet for the next decade.


But in the here and now, Boston is a pretty attractive star in the NBA firmament. It’s a circumstance that was unthinkable in June 2007 – and every bit as real in June 2008.