The Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t get it done against the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the 2010 NBA finals on Sunday night, losing 103–94 at the Staples Center after clinching Game 1 on Thursday.
The Celtics looked like a different team than in the finals opener. They pulled their signature tough defense back together to limit the impact of Kobe Bryant, played in transition much better, and attacked the basket.
It was the Lakers’ first home loss in the postseason, and it came largely on the hands of Boston’s veteran point guard Ray Allen.
Allen shot 8–11 in 3-pointers to break the NBA finals record held by Kenny Smith and Scotty Pippen by one.
Allen tied the record in the first half alone, hitting two from downtown in the first quarter and then draining an astounding five in the second quarter. He led the game in scoring and finished the night with 32 points.
Rajon Rondo had a slow start to the game but had a huge fourth-quarter performance to notch a triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
“It was an entire team effort,” Rondo told ESPN after the game.
“Ray carried us through the first half and in the second half we got in a little slump but we stayed together and got the victory.”
The Celtics pulled ahead by as much as 14 points in the second quarter but the Lakers went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter and pull to within six points.
The rest of the game was neck and neck until Boston went on a 16-4 run down the stretch to seal the game.
Pau Gasol led the Lakers in scoring with 25 points and Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum each had 21 points. No other Lakers player broke double-digit scoring.
Boston’s Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett both had tough first halves but stepped their play up in the second half. Pierce finished with 10 points and Garnett only had six points shooting 2-5 in only 23 minutes of playing time.
Kendrick Perkins had a solid game and did a good job drawing fouls.
The Celtics looked like a different team than in the finals opener. They pulled their signature tough defense back together to limit the impact of Kobe Bryant, played in transition much better, and attacked the basket.
It was the Lakers’ first home loss in the postseason, and it came largely on the hands of Boston’s veteran point guard Ray Allen.
Allen shot 8–11 in 3-pointers to break the NBA finals record held by Kenny Smith and Scotty Pippen by one.
Allen tied the record in the first half alone, hitting two from downtown in the first quarter and then draining an astounding five in the second quarter. He led the game in scoring and finished the night with 32 points.
Rajon Rondo had a slow start to the game but had a huge fourth-quarter performance to notch a triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
“It was an entire team effort,” Rondo told ESPN after the game.
“Ray carried us through the first half and in the second half we got in a little slump but we stayed together and got the victory.”
The Celtics pulled ahead by as much as 14 points in the second quarter but the Lakers went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter and pull to within six points.
The rest of the game was neck and neck until Boston went on a 16-4 run down the stretch to seal the game.
Pau Gasol led the Lakers in scoring with 25 points and Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum each had 21 points. No other Lakers player broke double-digit scoring.
Boston’s Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett both had tough first halves but stepped their play up in the second half. Pierce finished with 10 points and Garnett only had six points shooting 2-5 in only 23 minutes of playing time.
Kendrick Perkins had a solid game and did a good job drawing fouls.
