For the 3rd consecutive season Phil Jackson's LA Lakers were a part of the NBA Finals, and for the 2nd continuous time came out on top, this time against Boston Celtics!
LA Lakers defeated Pheonix Suns in the Western Conference finals and Boston Celtics defeated last year finalists Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals to reach the Finals of the 2010 NBA Playoffs season!
The stage was set with the first 2 games scheduled in LA, the next 3 in Boston, and the final 2 matches (if required) again in the Staples Centre, LA as is the format in which the NBA finals are always held.
The first match was on 3rd June and was won by the Lakers, taking home advantage and securing a comfortable victory 102 to Boston's 89, Bryant scoring 30 points!
The second match on 6th June, saw a comeback by the Celtics, and winning the game 103 to 94, with Ray Allen top scoring with 32.
The third match was in Boston, and this time it was LA Lakers' turn to make a comeback winning 91 to 84, and again Kobe Bryant top scoring with 29 points.
The 4th and 5th games were close encounters, but were both ultimately won by Boston Celtics, 96 to 89 and 92 to 86 respectively. After 5 games, Boston Celtics winning the 7 match finals, 3-2, needing just another victory to be crowned champions, but they had to play both matches in front of a fully charged LA crowd.
The 6th Match was a low scoring affair, and LA Lakers secured a victory scoring 89 points, to Boston's 67 which meant that the stage was set for the 7th and final game in LA.
It was only the 4th time since 1985, when a 7th game was required to decide the championship.
The 7th game started with Boston taking the advantage in the first quarter, scoring 23 points, taking an advantage of 9 points, LA scoring just 14. In the 2nd Quarter, LA tried to make a comeback, and outscored Boston 20 to 17. At Half Time, Boston leading 40 to LA's 34. In the 3rd Quarter, LA again cut down Boston's lead and scored 19 points to Boston's 17, leaving the 4th quarter and a difference of just 4 points to be decided in the 4th Quarter. The 4th Quarter started with LA resting Kobe for the first few moments of the match. A great defensive and offensive display ensured a victory for the Los Angeles Lakers, when they outscored Boston 30 to 22 in the last quarter with Ron Artest getting 20 points in the game, and Paul Gasol scoring 19. It was an off day for LA's most important player, Kobe Bryant, but the other members of the team pulled together a great defensive performance and brought the Lakers back in the second half.
Bryant was named the Finals MVP for the second straight season. Despite struggling in the series finale, he came through when it counted the most. Bryant scored 10 of his game-high 23 points in the final period, which included 8-for-9 from the free-throw line. He also had 15 rebounds.
After the game, Bryant admitted to having pressed too much as he struggled from the field, shooting a postseason-worst 6-for-24 from the field.
"I wanted it so, so bad," said Bryant, who now joins Laker great Magic Johnson with his fifth ring. "The more I tried to push, the more it kept getting away from me. I'm just glad that my teammates really got us back in the game."
When asked what this championship meant individually, Bryant had some fun.
"Just got one more than Shaq," he said. "You can take that to the bank. You know how I am. I don't forget anything."
With Bryant struggling, it was the other Lakers who pulled through. Pau Gasol finished with 19 points and 18 rebounds, while Artest came up big with 20 points and five steals and Derek Fisher added 10.
Following the loss, the Celtics were emotional.
"Well there's a lot of crying in our locker room, a lot of people who care," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "I don't think there was a dry eye. A lot of hugs, a lot of people feeling awful."
The loss didn't diminish what this season has meant to Rivers, however.
"It was the craziest, most emotional group I've ever coached in my life," he said. "I told them, they made me reach to places that I never thought I needed to go...so that's what makes (this loss) tough."
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