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LOS ANGELES: Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett must
bounce back from horrible shooting performances if the Boston
Celtics are to keep the Los Angeles Lakers from leveling the
National Basketball Association Finals.
The Lakers dropped the first two
games in Boston but can pull even in the best-of-7 championship
series with a victory in Game 4 here Thursday after shutting down
the Celtics’ top scorers in an 87-81 triumph in Game 3.
“We’re a pretty confident
bunch,” Lakers star Kobe Bryant said. “It’s just about doing
what we’ve got to do to win. You just go out there, do the things
you’ve been taught and control the things you can.”
Pierce was a woeful 2-for-14 from
the field in game three, scoring only six points in his Hollywood
homecoming, while Garnett went 6-for-21 and had 13 points—both NBA
Finals debutantes well below their usual totals.
“I was probably a little more
anxious than normal being that I’m at home in front of more family
and friends, but I’ve got to block that out and go leave it on the
court. I’ve done it in the past. It’s time for me to do it
again.
“I’ll just keep shooting the
ball. A lot of the looks I got were looks I can make, so just stay
positive and if I get those same looks in Game 4 I’m confident
they’ll be in.”
Garnett plans to pound his way
through the Lakers defense to the basket more often, giving better
scoring chances to a team that hit only 29-of-83 shots Tuesday.
“I’ve got to do a lot better
job of getting guys easy shots by being aggressive. I’m being
patient but at the same time I have to attack the basket, so look
for more of that,” Garnett said.
“I guess the consistency is the
big question mark and I wasn’t doing that. I think for the most
part they are doing a good job of mixing up the schemes. I have to
be better at recognizing them.
“We have to attack the basket
and put some of these guys hopefully in foul trouble and put the
onus on the referees to make some calls.”
The Lakers have won 15 in a row
at home and are 9-0 at home in this year’s playoffs, one victory
shy of matching the one-season NBA home playoff win streak record,
while the Celtics are only 2-8 on the road in the playoffs.
The Lakers take comfort in the
fact that star big men Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom struggled in game
three, with Los Angeles hitting only 30-of-69 from the field but
winning behind Bryant’s 36 points.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers was
confident Pierce and Garnett, hungry for a title after years of
playoff frustration, would find their shooting touch.
“We’ve got to get Kevin
going,” Rivers said. “He’s shooting below 40 percent in the
series and that’s something he doesn’t do. Paul I honestly never
worry a lot about offensively. He had a tough night. He will get it
going.”
Lakers coach Phil Jackson warned
his players that they cannot count upon silencing Garnett and Pierce
again.
“Pierce is going to play
better,” Jackson said. “That was just a down game for them. They
will get themselves in better shape for the next game. They will
have a better offensive opportunity.”
A Boston victory would put the
Celtics on the verge of their first NBA crown since 1986 and 17th
overall. The Lakers seek a 15th NBA crown and first since 2002.
--AFP
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