Image by Adam Pieniazek via FlickrBOSTON – It's Game 102 of the Lakers' season, so the Boston Celtics know full well who the Lakers have – and who they don't, as in the case of swollen-kneed Andrew Bynum most of the second half Thursday night.So with the Lakers getting little from anyone not named Kobe Bryant or Pau Gasol, the Celtics took control in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Finals for a 96-89 victory that tied the series, 2-2.
The Lakers' leading reserve, Lamar Odom was ineffective in Bynum's place and came away all too aware of how the Celtics had put forth a team effort that the Lakers didn't.
Boston reserves Glen Davis (18 points) and Nate Robinson (12) were energizers and bucket-providers in a game where both teams struggled to score in the first and third quarters. Also off Boston's bench, Tony Allen was cited as "phenomenal" by Celtics coach Doc Rivers; Rasheed Wallace was "unbelievable."
"You never know where it's going to come from," Odom said of the Celtics' game. "That's how you beat teams."
Boston's victory ensures there will be a Game 6 at Staples Center on Tuesday night. Game 7, if necessary, would be June 15 – again at Staples, where the Lakers were 9-0 in the postseason before losing Game 2 to Boston.
Lakers forward Ron Artest was so moved by teammate Derek Fisher's late-game performance to win Game 3 of the NBA Finals that he said of Fisher: "He's like an MVP-type guy." After the Lakers' Game 4 loss, they might be jumping to a conclusion that Bynum is the most valuable.
The Celtics breezed through the Lakers' Bynum-less paint for fourth-quarter points. The Lakers had a 62-60 lead after three quarters.
Odom failed even to do what he usually does on the boards while Bynum sat out: Odom got just one of his seven rebounds in his 22:10 of second-half play. The Celtics outrebounded the Lakers, 41-34. The team that has gotten more boards has won every game in the series.
Boston got three consecutive layups – two over Odom and one over Gasol – to take a 66-64 lead with 9:46 to play. Boston kept it coming thereafter, with a Robinson layup lifting the Celtics' advantage in points in the paint to a whopping 46-24 at the time.
Bryant finished with 33 points on 10-of-22 shooting. He made 6 of 11 shots from 3-point range, but he was kept on the perimeter of the Lakers' offense for the second consecutive game. He had seven turnovers and just two assists, and the Lakers might be wise to send him more to the post in Game 5, as they eventually did in the 2009 NBA Finals against Orlando, to create team offense.
Bryant ended the third quarter pleading with referee Greg Willard for a call after not being awarded any free throws all game to that point. He had pushed the Lakers forward with shooting sprees a couple times earlier in the game, but the Lakers needed one from him or better execution from his teammates to rally in the fourth quarter. When the interior of their defense collapsed, the Lakers really fell into a hole.
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/game-252928-lakers-bynum.html
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