NBA

Lakers Overcome Kobe’s Off Night For Second Straight Title

Anything can happen in a Game 7 – including Kobe Bryant having a nearly John-Starks-level shooting meltdown for much of the game. Fortunately for the Los Angeles Lakers, they did enough to win anyway, slogging through an ugly 83-79 victory over the Boston Celtics for their second straight NBA title.

With Bryant shooting just 6-24 from the field, the Lakers trailed for much of the game (and by as many as 13 in the second half), until another clutch Derek Fisher shot tied the game at 64. Video:

Los Angeles began to pull away a bit, but a sudden flurry of 3-pointers (by both teams) kept the Celtics within striking distance. Pau Gasol, however (19 points, 18 rebounds) helped put the game away with a late shot under the basket, and a rebound of the Celtics’ last shot. Video of the game’s final 1.5 minutes:

The Lakers were, it must be said, helped by a 37-17 free throw advantage, a possible sign the referees let the home crowd get to them. Unsurprisingly, Bill Simmons mentioned this in his running game commentary:

37 FT’s for LA, 17 for Boston… and yet, LA shot 20 threes. So on 63 FG’s they somehow shot 37 FT’s. You’re damn right I’ll play that card!

However, even Simmons noted that L.A. was “tougher down the stretch,” and the Lakers’ 53-40 rebounding advantage suggests that maybe they did outdo the Celtics at what was supposedly a main Boston advantage (physicality), and that maybe at least some of the free throw advantage was deserved.

Oh, and Ron Artest thanked his psychiatrist after the game. Of course he did. It wasn’t even surprising, since he was the one who did it. Speaking of unsurprising: Twitter loves it.

Overall, a compelling and tense, but sloppy, Game 7. In other words, a Game 7. The Lakers had to earn it. Even with their best player AWOL offensively for much of the night, they did.

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