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LOS
ANGELES—On his floor and on his game, Kobe Bryant
revived the Los Angeles Lakers—and the National
basketball Association (NBA) finals.
With his
team one loss from having to make an impossible climb,
Bryant was close to MVP form, scoring 36 points on an
assortment of spins, drives and jumpers, and reserve
Sasha Vujacic added 20 points as the Lakers beat the
Boston Celtics, 87-81, in Game Three on Tuesday night.
A change
of time zones, jerseys and attitude did wonders for the
Lakers, who staggered home from Boston in a 0-2 hole and
couldn’t afford to fall any further behind in the first
best-of-seven matchup between the league’s marquee teams
since 1987.
No team
in NBA playoff history has ever overcome a 0-3 deficit.
Bryant
made sure the Lakers won’t have to.
And this
time, the superstar got some help.
Vujacic,
the self-proclaimed “Machine,” made three
three-pointers, including a crucial one from the left
corner with 1:53 left that gave the Lakers an 81-76
lead. Pau Gasol finally flexed his muscles with two
inside baskets in the fourth quarter, and Derek Fisher,
who took an $8-million pay cut to come back and play for
the Lakers, made two free throws with 1:33 remaining as
the Lakers held on.
“We just
wanted to play,” said Bryant, whose only flaw was an
11-of-18 night from the foul line. “I don’t think anyone
was feeling desperate.”
Game
Four is Thursday night at the
Staples
Center, where the Lakers are 9-0 in the playoffs and
unbeaten in 15 games since March 28.
But it
took everything they had to keep that streak alive as
the Celtics, two wins from their 17th NBA title but only
2-8 on the road in this postseason, made the Lakers play
a more physical, Eastern Conference-style game and
nearly walked away with a win.
Ray
Allen scored 25 points—15 on three-pointers—for the
Celtics, but only one-third of Boston’s Big Three showed
up.
Kevin
Garnett scored 13 points on just six-of-21 shooting, and
Paul Pierce, playing a short drive from his childhood
home, had only six points, missed 12 shots and was in
foul trouble all night.
Star-studded
Meanwhile, actor Jack Nicholson was in his familiar
courtside seat wearing his traditional sunglasses
Tuesday night, cheering on the Lakers in Game Three of
the NBA finals.
It was a
scene reminiscent of the 1980s, when Nicholson supported
the Lakers at The Forum in
Inglewood in their three finals matchups with the Celtics.
Actress
Dyan Cannon, another fan dating to the Magic Johnson-led
“Showtime” Lakers, was also on hand, as was soccer star
David Beckham, a Staples Center regular since joining
the Los Angeles Galaxy last summer.
Actors
Denzel Washington, Dustin Hoffman, Timothy Hutton,
Kristin Davis, Hilary Duff, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon,
Eddie Murphy, Sylvester Stallone and Tobey Maguire were
others who showed up along with directors Spike Lee,
Steven Spielberg and Penny Marshall, along with Playboy
boss Hugh Hefner and his girlfriends, the stars of the
reality show The Girls Next Door. Kanye West,
too, made an appearance.
Former
Lakers standouts Rick Fox and A.C. Green, ex-Celtics Jo
Jo White and Bill Walton and European soccer players
Didier Drogba and Darren Bent were in attendance.
Boston’s
Kevin Garnett got the tickets for Drogba and Bent.
No more
training camp
In
Olympic basketball, so much for the training-camp
competition for the final spots on the US men’s team.
The United States will pick its squad without a tryout.
The
Americans have changed their plans and will select the
12 players headed to Beijing before they report to Las
Vegas later this month. Originally, the team was to have
potentially 16 players in camp and cut down to 12 on
June 30.
“The
staff really is more interested in getting down so that
they can get to work in terms of preparation. We have
switched our thinking,” USA Basketball managing director
Jerry Colangelo told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
“Our
plan is to go ahead and announce our team sometime
before we get to Las Vegas.”
Colangelo said the announcement likely would come after
the NBA finals end. The Americans are to begin workouts
on the UNLV campus on June 28.
There
are more than 30 players in the national team program,
but Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski are down to
about their top 14. They will decide on the final two
spots, probably at point guard and power forward, in the
coming days.
--AP |
