2008 NBA Finals: Game One - Lakers 88, Celtics 98

The Fig Cap: "Hey Kobe, do you know who Willis Reed is?"

The big story of this game is, of course, that the Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers to take Game One. But, at the essence, it's about Paul Pierce getting wheeled off the court back into the locker room and coming back minutes later onto the hardwood and draining buckets, in particular, two three-pointers in a row, and finishing with 22 points for the game. Was it a miracle or melodrama? Are the comparisons being made to Willis Reed of the New York Knicks coming out in Game Seven of the 1970 NBA Finals versus the Lakers valid? Well, I agree with Michael Grange of the Globe and Mail. But, it's over and doesn't matter much anymore. The W does.

However, Pierce's drama aside, the fact remains that the Lakers faltered badly in the second half of the game, particularly in the fourth quarter when they only scored 15 points. Kobe Bryant scoring 24 points to lead the team is a pretty good thing, but not pretty good when he shoots 9-for-26 from the floor. You have to think that Kobe will get on track and can't possibly continue to shoot this badly, which is a scary thing to think about if you're a Celtic or Celtics fan.

Kevin Garnett led the Celtics with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Ray Allen (19 points) and Rajon Rondo (15 points, 7 assists) also had good games for the Celtics. You can check the rest of the stats in the Box Score.

Game Two goes down this Sunday at 9PM ET on ABC.

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