2008 NBA CHAMP BOSTON CELTICS v. 1980 NBA CHAMPION LA LAKERS
Celtics: 66-16, 1st Atl Div, 10th Off/1st Def
d. Hawks East 1st Rnd 4-3
d. Cavs East Semis 4-3
d. Pistons East Finals 4-2
d. Lakers NBA Finals 4-2
#16 overall seed
d. '11 Magic (2-1 Allen/KG)
d. '10 Lakers (2-0 KG)
d. '19 Blazers (2-0 KG)
Regional Final: d. '06 Mavs (2-0 Allen (1st team 2)/KG (MVP6)
Coach: Doc Rivers, Asst Tom Thibodeau, Clifford Ray GM Danny Ainge
Starters
C Leon Powe 24-Cal 7.9 20.9 4.3 .5
F Kevin Garnett 31 18.8 25.3 12.9 6 VORP
F Paul Pierce 30-Kansas 19.6 19.6 12.4 5
G Rajon Rondo 21-Kentucky 10.6 15.6 7.2 2.4
G Ray Allen 32-UConn 17.4 16.4 9.7 3.3
Rotation Reserves
C Kendrick Perkins 23 6.9 PPG 13.3 PER 6.2 WS 1.2
F Glen Davis 22-LSU 4.5 11.3 2.5 -.2
F James Posey 31-X 7.4 12 6.2 2.1
G Eddie House 29-Ariz St 7.5 13 3.9 1.4
G Tony Allen 26-Oklahoma St 6.6 10.7 2.7 .1
Leaders: RAllen 4th FT%
Garnett 4th PER, 2nd Def WS, 2nd WS/48, 4th +/-, 1st Def Rtng, 1st Team All NBA
Pierce 5th Def WS, 3rd Team All NBA
Perkins 4th Def Rtng
Posey 5th Def Rtng
Top defensive team in the league in '08. 31 year old KG is over 20 PER with double digit WS. 30 year old Paul Pierce has double digit WS and 24 year old Leon Powe has 20 PER. KG was Defensive Player of the Year, Danny Ainge Executive of the Year. Pierce was Finals MVP. Garnett, Pierce and 32 year old Ray Allen were all All Stars. Garnett was Region 16 MVP, he and Allen both made All Region Team. Boston has swept its last 3 series.
Lakers: 60-22, 1st in Pac Div, 1st in Offense, 9th in Defense
d. Suns West Semis 4-1
d. Sonics West Finals 4-1
d. Sixers NBA Finals 4-2
#64 overall seed
d. '55 Nationals (2-1, Kareem 2 PotG)
d. '15 Clips (2-1, Magic/Kareem)
d. '17 Warriors (2-1 Magic/Kareem)
Regional Final: d. '04 Spurs (2-1 Kareem(MVP5)Magic 1st team 3)
Coach: Paul Westhead, Asst Pat Riley
Starters
C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32 UCLA) 24.8 PPG 25.3 PER 14.8 Win Shares 7.3 VORP
F Spencer Haywood (30 Detroit Mercy) 9.7 13.9 3.1 -.1
F Jamal Wilkes (26 UCLA) 20 17.6 10 2.6
G Magic Johnson (20 Mich St) 18 20.6 10.5 4.8
G Norm Nixon (24 Duquense) 17.6 14.9 6.7 1.1
Rotation Reserves
C Jim Chones (30 Marquette) 10.6 11.3 3.5 -.2
F Mark Landsberger (24 Ariz St) 7 17 1 0
F Don Ford (27 UC Santa Barbara) 3 8.3 .9 -.1
G Brad Holland (23 UCLA) 2.8 14.3 .3 0
G Michael Cooper (23 N Mexico) 8.8 12.5 4 .9
Leaders: Abdul-Jabbar (5th Def Rebounds, 1st Blocks, 1st Blocks/game, 3rd Block %, 1st Win Shares, 1st Win Shares/48, 1st VORP) 1st Team All NBA
Johnson (1st Triple Doubles)
It's 20 year old Magic's rookie season; he and 32 year old Kareem have PERs over 20, he, 26 year old Wilkes and Kareem all have double digit Win Shares. Kareem's 1st Team All NBA for the World Champion Lakers; he also took home the MVP. The Lakers knocked off the top seed in Region 1, the 2017 Warriors; like the Spurs, they've been to the Showdown game in every round. Magic was MVP of the NBA Finals; he and Kareem were both All Stars, Kareem was 1st Team All Defense. The Lakers have gone to the showdown in every series in the tournament; Kareem was Region 1 MVP, he and Magic made the all region team.
Matchup:
C Kareem (Lakers)
F Garnett (Celtics)
F Pierce (Celtics)
G Magic (Lakers)
G Allen (Celtics)
Bench: Celtics
First best of 5 Series - 1 and 2 in Boston, 3 and if needed, 4 in LA, if needed, back to Boston for the showdown. Celtics haven't lost a game since game 1. We start bringing in national announcers, it's the last round with the locals.
Gm 1: Boston: TD Garden: Marv Albert/Tommy Heinsohn
1Qtr
9 Celtics 10 Lakers 2
Celtics Pierce, Powe, Rondo(1) Pierce(3) KG
Lakers Nixon
6 Celtics 12 Lakers 10
Celtics KG
Lakers Kareem, Nixon, Kareem, Nixon
The Sweet 16 is underway; Best of 5. One of these teams heads to the Elite 8.
3 Celtics 22 Lakers 15
Celtics KG, RAllen(3) Powe, House(3)
Lakers Kareem(1) Haywood, Kareem
1Score Celtics 24 Lakers 19
Celtics KG
Lakers Landsberger, Cooper
Boston was the top defense in '08, LA the top offense in '80 - Celtics defense winning so far. 8 For Garnett
2Qtr
9 Celtics 34 Lakers 31
Celtics TAllen, KG, Davis, Powe, Powe
Lakers Landsberger, Holland, Wilkes, Landsberger, Wilkes, Kareem
6 Celtics 40 Lakers 39
Celtics KG, TAllen, Rondo
Lakers Cooper, Holland, Holland, Wilkes
And now the Laker offense rebounds - who doesn't have a point yet? Magic.
3 Celtics 45 Lakers 45
Celtics Pierce(3) Pierce
Lakers Wilkes, Magic, Haywood
HScore Celtics 50 Lakers 48
Celtics Pierce, Powe(3)
Lakers Haywood(3)
7 for Paul Pierce in the last 6 - Magic has 4 fouls.
3Qtr
9 Celtics 56 Lakers 48
Celtics Powe, Pierce, Perk
Lakers
6 Celtics 61 Lakers 52
Celtics KG, House(3)
Lakers Kareem, Wilkes
Just 4 for the Lakers in the last 6 - Magic's on the bench w/ 4 fouls and LA is in trouble in game one.
3 Celtics 68 Lakers 58
Celtics Pierce(3) Rondo, Powe
Lakers Wilkes, Haywood, Mack
3Score Celtics 79 Lakers 64
Celtics KG, Powe(3) Powe, Rondo, Rondo
Lakers Wilkes, Wilkes, Landsberger
Boston realy dropping the hammer now; 20 year old Magic totally locked up in game one.
4Qtr
9 Celtics 85 Lakers 72
Celtics Pierce, RAllen, Perk
Lakers Magic, Wilkes, Kareem, Haywood
6 Celtics 93 Lakers 72
Celtics House(3) KG, Powe, KG(1)
Lakers
Gm 1 is done, easy one for the Celtics
3 Celtics 102 Lakers 72
Celtics Posey, RAllen(3) Scalabrine, Brown
Lakers
FScore Celtics 112 Lakers 74
Celtics Scalabrine(3) Cassell, Pollard(1) Cassell, Cassell
Lakers Boone
Wow - Boston scores 2 points in the lst 9+ minutes, we've never seen anything like it in the tournament and it happens in the Sweet 16. Magic is held to 4 pts/4 assists.
KG: 19 pts/15 boards/7 assists-Player of the Game(7)
Pierce: 19 pts/5 boards/5 assists
Powe: 22 pts/8 boards
Wilkes: 18 pts
Kareem: 13 pts/11 boards
Haywood: 11 pts/9 boards
Landsberger: 8 pts/10 boards
Gm 2: Boston: TD Garden: Marv Albert/Tommy Heinsohn
1Qtr
9 Celtics 8 Lakers 6
Celtics Pierce, Powe, RAllen, Powe
Lakers Magic, Haywood, Nixon
6 Celtics 17 Lakers 17
Celtics Pierce, Rondo, Powe, RAllen(3)
Lakers Nixon, Nixon, Kareem, Nixon, haywood(3)
The Celtics just punished LA down the stretch in game one; they look to replicate that here.
3 Celtics 23 Lakers 23
Celtics Powe, Powe, KG
Lakers Kareem, Nixon, Wilkes
1Score Lakers 30 Celtics 25
Celtics Pierce
Lakers Ford, Magic, Cooper(1) landsberger
LA was held below 80 for all of game one and they have 30 already today. 8 for Norm Nixon
2Qtr
9 Lakers 38 Celtics 33
Celtics TAllen, Perk, KG, KG
Lakers Wilkes, landsberger, Wilkes, Cooper
6 Lakers 47 Celtics 38
Celtics KG(3) Pierce
Lakers Holland, Holland, Landsberger(3) Kareem
LA with their biggest lead- Landsberger has 7 off the bench
3 Lakers Lakers 53 Celtics 45
Celtics TAllen(3) Perk, KG
Lakers Karee, Cooper, Landsberger
HScore Lakers 57 Celtics 45
Celtics
Lakers Landsberger, Kareem
Double digits for Mark Landsberger and its LA with the double digit lead.
3Qtr
9 Lakers 59 Celtics 54
Celtics KG, KG(3) Rondo, KG
Lakers Haywood
6 Lakers 67 Celtics 64
Celtics RAllen, KG, RAllen, Powe, House
Lakers Wilkes, Nixon, Nixon, Kareem
Garnett leads the run w/ 9and it's a game.
3 Lakers 75 Celtics 67
Celtics Pierce(3)
Lakers Chones, Nixon, Wilkes, Wilkes
3Score Lakers 81 Celtics 74
Celtics Powe(3) KG, Powe
Lakers haywood, haywood, Kareem
LA has more through 3 than in all of game 1
4Qtr
9 Lakers 87 Celtics 84
Celtics RAllen, RAllen, Perk, KG, Perk
Lakers Nixon, Nixon, Kareem
6 Lakers 92 Celtics 92
Celtics Pierce, Powe, Powe, KG
Lakers Cooper(3) Kareem
We are tied.
5:51: LA: Kareem in the paint.
4:49: BOS: Rondo in traffic.
3:31: LA: Magic baseline J.
3:02: BOS: Ray Allen corner triple - that lights up this Celtic crowd and the Beat LA chant revs up.
2:21: BOS: Allen top of the key - Boston by 3.
1:59: BOS: KG rips home a dunk and it is a 5 point game.
1:24: LA: Norm Nixon with his foot on the 3 pt line.
1:06: LA; Haywood goes off glass. 101-100 Celtics
:46: LA: Jamaal Wilkes hits a corner 3 - LA goes back up a bucket
:39: BOS: KG down low, just fighting his way to the goal Tied.
:26: LA: Spencer Haywood, beautiful floater
:17: BOS: Paul Pierce from the wing. Tied at 105.
Laker timeout. They are playing for the last shot. Into Kareem - he kicks it out to Wilkes - Wilkes has a great look at the buzzer---
Rims out. Overtime.
Celtics 105 Lakers 105
OT
4:41: BOS: Rondo opens with a triple from the top.
3:39: BOS: Ray Allen from the wing. 5 pt game.
3:29: LA: Magic drives and scores,
3:08: BOS: KG from 15.
2:36: BOS: Paul Pierce lays it up and it is a 7 point Celtic lead.
2:25: LA: Wilkes from the wing.
2:16: BOS: Powe 4 footer.
1:34: LA: Sky hook
1:12: LA: Magic hits a huge triple from the top and LA cuts it to 2.
:43: LA: Pierce fouls Wilkes -- that's 5 and he hits them both and we are tied at 116.
:36: BOS: Ray Allen a huge corner 3 and it is a 3 pt game.
:24: LA: Pierce fouls out - Kareem hits both, but Boston is still up.
Powe hits 2 FT at 17 seconds.
Nixon a quick 2. Boston by 1. 13 seconds left.
Magic picks up his 5th - Garnett hits both. 123-120.
Wilkes misses a game tying 3 -- Kareem putback. Celtics by 1. 5 seconds.
Magic fouls out. Garnett hits both.
3 seconds. Lakers will be looking for the game tying 3 - its almost certainly Wilkes.
Brad Holland slips out - Holland has an open 3 -----
No good. Boston wins.
Final: Celtics 125 Lakers 122
Terrific game 2 - LA had a chance to send this to a second OT but Holland misses the open 3 and Boston goes to LA up 2-0. Garnett's 8th PotG in the tournament.
KG: 36 pts/16 boards/6 assists-PotG(8)
Pierce: 17 pts/9 assists
RAllen: 23 pts/7 boards/7 assists
Powe: 25 pts/14 boards
Magic: 11 pts/9 assists/4 steals
Kareem: 26 pts/14 boards
Wilkes: 19 pts/6 boards
Nixon: 24 pts/9 assists
Haywood: 15 pts/6 boards
Landsberger: 11 pts/8 boards
Gm 3: LA: The Forum: Marty Glickman/Chick Hearn
1Qtr
9 Lakers 6 Celtics 6
Lakers Wilkes, Kareem, Haywood
Celtics KG, Rondo, Powe
6 Celtics 17 Lakers 14
Lakers Haywood, Haywood, Haywood, Wilkes
Celtics Powe, RAllen, RAllen(3) Perk, Rondo
Boston wins both 1-2 at home and LA is up against it - they need to win 3 straight games.
3 Celtics 29 Lakers 21
Lakers Kareem(1) Wilkes, Magic, Landsberger
Celtics Pierce(3) RAllen, Pierce, RAllen(3) Pierce
1Score Celtics 35 Lakers 26
Lakers Kareem(3) Nixon
Celtics Perk, Perk, Davis
Boston entered as the 16th overall seed in the tournament, the top seeded team in Region 16 - and they look to play beyond that now, a win today and they are the first team in the Elite 8
2Qtr
9 Celtics 37 Lakers 32
Lakers Nixon, Nixon, Nixon
Celtics TAllen
6 Lakers 42 Celtics 39
Lakers Kareem, Landsberger, Kareem, Kareem, Wilkes
Celtics Powe
Big run for LA, they hold Boston to 4 pts in 6 min and take the lead.
3 Lakers 50 Celtics 41
Lakers Nixon, Magic, Magic, kareem
Celtics KG
HScore Lakers 57 Celtics 51
Lakers Nixon(1) Magic, Haywood, Kareem
Celtics Rondo(1) RAllen, KG, KG, RAllen(3)
Kareem with 10 second qtr pts.
3Qtr
9 Lakers 62 Celtics 52
Lakers Kareem, Nixon, Chones(1)
Celtics Davis(1)
6 Lakers 68 Celtics 56
Lakers Cooper, Kareem, haywood
Celtics Pierce, KG
Double digit Laker lead - they look to make their way out of this 2-0 hole.
3 Lakers 78 Celtics 62
Lakers Cooper, Cooper, Cooper, Kareem, Kareem
Celtics Powe, Rondo, TAllen
3Score Lakers 84 Celtics 67
Lakers Landsberger, Wilkes, Wilkes
Celtics Powe(1) KG, RAllen
LA has this one in hand - 8 more for the Capt.
4Qtr
9 Lakers 93 Celtics 75
Lakers Kareem, Cooper(3) Haywood, Nixon
Celtics RAllen, Pierce, KG, Powe
6 Lakers 97 Celtics 84
Lakers Kareem, haywood
Celtics Pierce, Rondo, Powe, Davis, Rondo(1)
Magic has 5 fouls.
3 Lakers 101 Celtics 93
Lakers Landsberger, Haywood
Celtics KG, RAllen, Powe(3) KG
FScore Lakers 107 Celtics 97
Lakers Nixon, Magic, Kareem
Celtics KG, KG
LA gets a pretty easy one here and now they get one more in the Forum to tie this thing up. Kareem's 6th PotG
Kareem: 30 pts/11 boards/9 assists-PotG(6)
Wilkes: 12 pts
Magic: 10 pts/9 boards/8 assists/6 steals
Nixon: 17 pts/5 boards/5 assists
Hawyood: 18 pts/10 boards
Cooper: 11 pts
Gm 4 LA: The Forum: Marty Glickman/Chick Hearn
1Qtr
9 Lakers 8 Celtics 4
Lakers Kareem, Kareem, Haywood, Magic
Celtics Powe, Powe
6 Lakers 16 Celtics 10
Lakers Nixon, Wilkes, Magic, Wilkes
Celtics Powe, Powe, Perk
Game 4 - this LA crowd trying to will their team to tie this up.
3 Lakers 26 Celtics 16
Lakers Landsberger, Magic, Magic, Landsberger, Kareem
Celtics Powe, Powe, RAllen
1Score Lakers 32 Celtics 21
Lakers Kareem, Landsberger, Chones
Celtics Powe(1) KG, Powe
Tremendous start for the Lakers. Kareem has 8
2Qtr
9 Lakers 42 Celtics 30
Lakers Chones, Wilkes, Landsberger, Kareem, Nixon
Celtics House, TAllen, TAllen(3) Rondo
6 Lakers 53 Celtics 36
Lakers Landsberger(1) Kareem, Cooper, Kareem, Kareem, Kareem
Celtics Powe, KG, KG
The Lakers are blowing Boston out here in Game 4 - it looks like the first Sweet Sixteen matchup is headed for the first game 5 of the tourney.
3 Lakers 61 Celtics 45
Lakers Chones, Chones, Kareem, Kareem
Celtics Pierce(3) Pierce, Perk, Rondo
HScore Lakers 69 Celtics 51
Lakers Wilkes, Wilkes, Haywood, haywood
Celtics Pierce, Davis, KG
LA just laying the wood here; Kareem with 20 first half points.
3Qtr
9 Lakers 74 Celtics 55
Lakers Nixon, Magic(3)
Celtics Rondo, RAllen
6 Lakers 82 Celtics 59
Lakers Haywood, Nixon, Cooper(1) haywood(3)
Celtics TAllen, Pierce
9 for Spencer Haywood. We are going to Boston.
3 Lakers 87 Celtics 73
Lakers Wilkes, Haywood(3)
Celtics KG, Posey(3) Powe, KG, Posey(3) Powe
3Score Lakers 93 Celtics 81
Lakers Magic. Magic, Kareem, Wilkes
Celtics Rondo, Rondo, RAllen, Pierce, Perk
Celts shave the deficit to a dozen.
4Qtr
9 Lakers 98 Celtics 92
Lakers Kareem(3) Haywood
Celtics Pierce, Pierce, Powe, KG, Pierce(3)
6 Lakers 109 Celtics 103
Lakers Haywood, Kareem(3) Haywood, Wilkes, Cooper
Celtics RAllen(3) KG, KG, RAllen, Pierce
Paul Pierce with 9 in the first 6 of the 4th - that LA lead is 6.
3 Lakers 115 Celtics 109
Lakers Kareem, haywood, haywood
Celtics Davis(1) Pierce(3) KG
2 Lakers 115 Celtics 113
Lakers
Celtics KG(1) RAllen(3)
Boston cuts that 17 pt deficit to 2 with 2 to go.
1:32: LA; Sky hook.
1:19: BOS: Rondo corner 3. 1 point game.
1:00: BOS: After an LA tuenover, Leon Powe hits a 5 footer and the Boston Celtics have taken the lead.
:32: BOS: Magic misses, Pierce drills a 17 footer and Boston is up 3.
:25: LA: Magic drives and scores. 120-119. Lakers need a stop.
:08: BOS: It's Garnett - he scores down low and Boston is up 3.
Lakers need a 3 to tie - same spot they were in back in OT for Game 1.
It's Nixon. In the corner - for the tie ---
Nope. It's over.
Final: Celtics 122 Lakers 119
Boston outscores LA 41-26 in the 4th; 41 4th qtr points in the Forum in a must win game for the Lakers. Tremendous. 34 in the loss for Kareem.
Garnett: 23 pts/12 boards/7 assists-Player of the Game(9)- Series MVP
Powe 25 pts/13 boards
RAllen: 14 pts/6 assists
Rondo: 11 pts
Pierce: 25 pts
C Kareem ('80 Lakers, 6 PotG)
F Garnett ('08 Celtics 9 PotG)
G Magic ('80 Lakers 3 PotG)
G RAllen ('08 Celtics 2 PotG)
