Sweet Sweet Revenge - After losing to the arch rival Boston Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals, it seemed as if Kobe Bryant was never going to get over the hump of winning a tittle without former teammate Shaquille O'Neal. But just one year later, the 2008 MVP would have another chance to rise from the shadows of his 7-foot companion as the Lakers went on to defeat the Orlando Magic in 5-games. The tittle would be Kobe's 4th overall and Lakers head coach Phil Jackson's 10th, surpassing Boston's Red Auerbach who donned nine rings. However, both Bryant and Jackson would prove to be unsatisfied with their resumes as they eyed yet another tittle. After making it to the NBA Finals for the third straight season by defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns, only one team stood in their way -- The Boston Celtics.
With both teams set to add another chapter to the long history of the greatest rivalry in NBA history, the Lakers had one thing on their mind -- revenge. This time around opposed to the 6-game series Boston would eventually win in '08, the Lakers were the ones with home court advantage. But after splitting the first two games at the Staples Center thanks to a record setting performance by Ray Allen who set an All-Time mark for the most three-pointers made in an NBA Finals game with 8 surpassing the previous mark (7) shared by Kenny 'The Jet' Smith and Scottie Pippen, 2010 was beginning to look a lot like 2008 with three straight games set to be played at the TD Garden. But a big contribution from veteran point-guard Derek Fisher in game 3 would help L.A. steal back home-court advantage and give the Lakers a 2-1 lead.
The results of games 4 and 5 would end similar to one another as Boston came out on top by 7-points in game 4 and 6-points in game 5, despite a 38-point clinic put on by Bryant. With a trip back to L.A., the Lakers were in a do or die situation and were in need of a win to survive and force a game 7. With their backs against the wall, L.A. played their best defense of the series by allowing only 67-points in a blowout 22-point victory. Prior to game 7, it was learned that Boston would be without their starting center - Kendrick Perkins who left game 6 due to a torn PCL & MCL after leaping for a rebound and landing awkwardly. With Perkins sidelined, Celtics coach Doc Rivers had to fill the void and decided to go with veteran Rasheed Wallace due to his more lengthy playoff experience.
Out the gates, the Lakers found themselves trailing early and were down by as many as 13 after halftime. Kobe shot poorly from the field throughout most of the game which didn't seem to help much, and the rest of the Lakers couldn't hit free-throws to save their life. But Pao Gasol and Ron Artest who knocked down the biggest 3-pointer of his life, would steal the show and come up big when needed most. With some crucial free-throws coming late from Bryant and Sasha Vujacic, the Lakers overcame the deficit and held off the Celtics by a final score of 83-79. Bryant was named Finals MVP for the second consecutive season and hoisted his fifth NBA tittle, as did teammate Derek Fisher. For the Lakers franchise, the NBA Championship was the team's 16th overall and 5th in 11 seasons.
Although the 7 game series couldn't have made for a better story book ending for us Laker fans, it couldn't have worked out any better for ABC either as T.V. ratings sky rocketed through the roof. With the help of our international friends, this year's NBA Finals generated more viewers than ever before. The series was broadcast around the world in 215 countries and territories and translated in 41 different languages. But with the celebration of the victory came more rioting amongst the troublemakers in L.A. Then again, what more can you expect from the Laker faithful? Even though I'm a die hard Lakers fan, one thing I can never do is compare myself to the rest of the pack, as most Laker fans are known for being ignorant and extremely biased. As for the parade that took place a few days after the ruckus that filled the streets of Southern California, I was in attendance and took a few photos of my own that I will post later on along with my trip to Cali.
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