Game 3 in Boston was Bizarro Game 2 in Los Angeles. After a quick start by Boston thanks to Garnett, who finished with 25 points and was the only effective Celtic starter, the Lakers stormed past and took a commanding lead in the second quarter. The Celtics powered back in the third and the game was competitive until the Lakers made a final sprint at the end, winning 91-84.
Kobe did not shoot well, but scored 29 points, grabbed 7 boards, and added 3 blocks. The story, however, was Derek Fisher. The veteran guard scored 16 points, 11 in the 4th. Fisher has won 4 championships and knows when his team needs him to turn it on. Thankfully for his 35-year old legs, that isn't often. But he is customarily more proficient on the road than at home and this series has been no different. Lamar Odom added 12 timely points on 5-5 shooting.
For the Celtics, Ray Allen had a historic reversal of fortune. He shot 0-13 from the field and missed all 8 of his shots from long distance. To put his Game 2 performance into perspective, he tallied 8-19 from 3-point range during the two games, a better than 40% clip. Big Baby Davis had another solid game off the bench with 12 points. Nate Robinson scored a point-a-minute, but only played 5 of them. Pierce struggled once again. Rondo had another largely poor game.
The Lakers have taken home court advantage back. This series has been marred by poor officiating. Each game has featured a litany of early foul trouble for both teams. The problem is a large number of phantom fouls, influencing the outcome of the contests, have been called. In the last two minutes of Game 3, three times the officials needed to go to the monitor to check on their call. All three times, they had originally gotten it wrong.
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