Sports Redux: Seventeen Minus One

All right, fess up. Who went to bed at halftime?

We confess, we spent a good chunk of time planning to ditch the bar (sorry the liveblog didn't work out, but the first hour would have just been a steady stream of cuss words anyway), as the Celtics played a first quarter that would have shamed the 1997 "let's get Tim Duncan" team. The offense was inept, the defense was inept, Doc stood there watching like a man watching his car burn. The Lakers ended the first quarter 35-14, and it didn't look like things were going to get better.

But the second quarter showed some signs of life. Sure, it was still an 18-point lead, but the bench, led by James Posey and Eddie House, at least seemed to recognize where the basket was. With the right inspirational speech by Doc, and one of the C's' trademark 3rd quarters, maybe they could at least make it respectable...?

We didn't expect what happened in the second half at all. Kobe Bryant, who let his teammates have most of the fun in the first half, decided to take matters into his own hands, and learned to his dismay that that's exactly what the C's expected. Posey, Allen and Pierce took turns completely flummoxing the MVP, and the Celtics kept pounding and pounding away at LA's soft defense. 13...then 9....then down to two after the third.

Well, here's where things would certainly turn around, all figured. The league MVP, with his stellar supporting cast, their genius coach, and the diehard crowd behind them, would right the ship, yes? No. The Lakers played the fourth scared out of their minds. Leon Powe finally tied it up at 73 with 10:12 to go. Garnett started hitting. Posey and House kept burying timely threes. Pierce torched Kobe a couple of times. And Ray Allen sealed the deal by blowing past a hapless Sasha Vujacic for the cherry on top. The image of that little weasel Vujacic slapping away a towel on the bench, almost in tears, is an image we'll relish for a long, long time. In a fantastic season, this was far and away the best 15 minutes or so of basketball we've seen.

Where do you start handing out the praise? Let's start with Ray Allen, the only guy worth anything in the first half, who went 48 minutes and scored 19. Paul Pierce, who got the better of KB24 and led the team with 20. KG - we'll take another quiet 16/11, with some good timing. PJ Brown was in a big way responsible for the customary second-half disappearance of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. But we'll save our biggest cheers for Posey and House, who sparked the comeback, rallied the troops, and dug the C's out of a terrible hole. And praise to Doc, who kept going with what was working.

And LA can't blame anyone but themselves. Their game plan has always been get it to Kobe when nothing else is working, and the Celtics were right there waiting for it. Phil Jackson looks like a confused man. Even Bill Plaschke says it's over. The thought of the Staples Center's red carpet having to be dry-cleaned of the tears and vomit of LA's celebrity fans carried us gently into sleep last night.

The Red Sox won 9-2. Lester was fantastic, Lowell hit a grand slam, and JD Drew is now hitting 1.450 in June. Off to interleague play.