The Los Angeles Lakers have won their 16th championship, beating the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. It was a struggle for the Lakers, as they fell behind by double digits in the first half and in the second half. NBA Finals MVP G Kobe Bryant only made 6 of his 24 field goal attempts, but it was the offensive rebounding from the Lakers that kept them in it. They grabbed 23 offensive rebounds, the most since the 1996 NBA Finals by one team. Bryant himself had 15 total rebounds, and F Pau Gasol had 18 rebounds to go along with 19 points. Ron Artest had the best game of the series, being very physical with the Celtics and knocking down a big three-pointer with under 2 minutes left. He scored 20.
Bryant said it correctly when he said Game 7 meant nothing to him. All of these players were just going out and trying to get a victory to win the championship. The fact that it was a Game 7 between the Lakers and Celtics had nothing to do with the players. The Lakers/Celtics rivalry was at its best in the 1960s, and no current players even care about what happened then. However, the Lakers did look nervous as Gasol and Bryant missed crucial free throws in the fourth quarter. Also, the Lakers only shot 33% from the field, easily their lowest output of the series.
The Celtics couldn't capitalize, and that could've been because of the absence of C Kendrick Perkins. Also, G Ray Allen just seemed to go cold the rest of the series after his spectacular Game 2 performance, and that doomed the Celtics. F Kevin Garnett scored 17 points, but only grabbed 3 rebounds. That is not going to get it done for the Celtics either. He needed to be way more productive and it didn't happen. This could be the last run for the Celtics, as Allen and F Paul Pierce enters free agency. If both of them leaves, which isn't expected, they will not be seeing the Finals anytime soon.
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