Rajon Rondo’s second triple-double of the playoffs helped even the Finals.
Now we have a series.
The Boston Celtics shrugged off a poor Game 1 performance to win 103-94 in Game 2 and even up the series. The scene shifts to Boston on Tuesday night.
Bookmaker.com has Boston as 2 ½-point ‘chalk’ with a total of 193-points. The Lakers are down to 135 series favorites after being 300 before last game.
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The Celtics (63-38 straight-up, 46-53-3 against the spread) were desperate for a win on Sunday, but it wasn’t easy. Ray Allen buried seven three-pointers in the first half, scoring 27 points, but they were still only up six points (54-48) at halftime.
Los Angeles led 90-87 with 5:20 remaining and it looked like the ‘Kobe Bryant show’ would pull another game out in the fourth quarter. Instead, the Celtics showed the better poise and execution down the stretch, outscoring the Lakers 16-4 to end the game.
Boston was a six-point 'dog and is now 13-1 SU and ATS in the playoffs when holding its opponent under 100 points.
The 197 combined points went ‘over’ the 192 ½-point total. There was a ‘push’ of the 191-point total in Game 1.
The Lakers (70-30 SU, 43-54-3 ATS) dropped their first home game of the playoffs after starting 9-0 SU. They also scored under 100 points for the first since the opening round against Oklahoma City.
The Lakers’ big men dominated Game 2 once again with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum combining for 46 points and a whopping 13 blocks. The Celtics' backcourt of Allen and Rajon Rondo made up for it, with Rondo having a triple-double (19 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists).
Kobe Bryant had just 21 points after being mired in foul trouble. Lakers fans and coach Phil Jackson weren’t happy about it, but the refs called an even 29 fouls on both teams. L.A. even had far more free throw attempts (41-26), with many phantom calls on both sides.
Boston had more points in the paint (36-26) even with the inside dominance of the Lakers’ big guys. The Celtics got buried in that category (48-30) in the opener. They out-rebounded L.A. 44-39 after losing that battle 42-31 in Game 1.
The Lakers need better production from Lamar Odom. He scored three-points in 14 foul-plagued minutes last game. The LA bench was outscored by its Boston counterparts, 24-15.
Boston will play the next three games at home in the 2-3-2 format. Since the inception of this format in 1985, the 2004 Detroit Pistons and 2006 Miami Heat are the only two teams to win all three middle games. The Pistons beat a heavily favored Shaquille O’Neal and Bryant led team.
The Celtics were a disappointing 24-17 SU and 12-28-1 ATS at home in the regular season. Things have brightened considerably in the postseason, going 7-2 SU and ATS.
The ‘under’ is 6-3 in Boston’s home games, with one game going ‘over’ only because it went into overtime. Boston had held its opponents to 87 points or less in seven of those games.
The Lakers went 23-18 SU and 17-23-1 ATS away in the regular season. They’re 4-4 SU and ATS on the road in the playoffs. The ‘over’ is 5-2-1.
There are no injury concerns for this game. Bynum keeps saying his ailing knee is getting worse, but he keeps playing better. Boston’s Marquis Daniels (concussion) was activated last game, but wasn’t needed with Tony Allen and the other solid bench play.
ABC will have the 6 p.m. (PT) broadcast from TD Banknorth Garden. Game 4 will be held on Thursday night.