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BOSTON, Massachusetts: A tenacious and physical Boston defense kept
Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant at bay Thursday in a 98-88
victory to open the National Basketball Association Finals.
NBA Most Valuable Player Bryant scored 24
points, seven off his league-best playoff average, and hit only
9-of-26 shots as the Celtics seized the lead in the best-of-7
championship series.
“We just wanted to make him work,” said
Boston hero Paul Pierce, who shook off a right knee sprain to score
22 points. “We threw numerous defenders at him and just wanted to
give him different looks just to keep him uncomfortable.”
It worked, although Bryant professed to be
unhappy about missing open shots rather than heaping huge praise
upon his rivals.
“It was a good experience for us, nice little
kick in the ass,” Bryant said. “I had some great looks. They
just didn’t stay down. I just pile it in with the other bad
shooting games I’ve had, flush it and come back in game two.
“I just missed some really, really good looks.
I’ll be thinking about those a little bit.”
Bryant felt the bangs and bumps from the Celtics
as they switched coverage and moved players into his path time and
again.
“We played well enough to almost steal the
game,” Bryant said. “They scrapped and they clawed their way to
this victory. They played a lot more physical than we did and I
think that’s something we have to adjust to.”
Bryant’s teammate Derek Fisher noted
Boston’s 46-33 rebounding edge and the Celtics’ hustle for loose
balls.
“There were some stretches with some rebound
opportunities and loose balls where their guys wanted the ball more
than ours did,” Fisher said. “In the second half it got away
from us.”
Spanish center Pau Gasol said the team became
anxious.
“There were a lot of loose balls we didn’t
get. That’s a big difference,” he said. “We didn’t play a
good game and we got a little anxious. Hopefully next time we will
be more focused and sharper.”
The Celtics had the NBA’s best shooting
defense this season and kept Bryant from penetrating to the rim much
of the night.
“They’re not going to give him much of an
opportunity to break down the defense with dribble penetration,”
Fisher said. “He’s going to end up in a situation where he’s
coming off cuts and screens, taking more catch-and-shoot
opportunities.
“As the series goes on, he will understand
where his shots are going to come from and he will shoot the ball at
a higher percentage.”
Lakers coach Phil Jackson, seeking a record 10th
title as a coach, was unhappy the Lakers had 14 assists on 19
baskets in the first half but only half as many in the second half
but also noted Boston’s rebounding edge.
“That was the difference in the ball game,”
Jackson said.
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