The old adage, "defense wins championships" has always been the moniker for the past championship teams in the NBA. The phrase that pays remained true for the Boston Celtics, who won their 17th NBA Championship in a lopsided 131-92 victory in Game 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 39-point rout was the largest margin of victory in a NBA Finals clincher, surpassing the 1965 Celtics who defeated the Lakers by 33 to win the title that year. The energy from the crowd early in the game showed that it would be a long night for Lakers, who were trailing 3-1 in the series before winning Game 5 at the Staples Center to extend the series.
Regular season MVP Kobe Bryant started off good, scoring 11 points in the first quarter and making difficult shots beyond the arc. However, the Celtics defense settled in on Bryant, who was no longer a factor for the remainder of the game. Pau Gasol also had his hands full as Kevin Garnett was an unstoppable force and was determined to bounce back from his lackluster performance in Game 5.
After Ray Allen left the game in the first quarter after he was poked in the eye, the Celtics went to their bench players who have come up big throughout the series. James Posey and Eddie House both signified their roles as the Celtics begin to turn it on defensively and offensively, with a flurry of steals and 3-point shots to take a 58-35 halftime lead.
While both teams made comebacks earlier in the series, the Celtics was the only team to complete the comeback and win the game. The Lakers hoped to do the same, but the Celtics came out in the second half with a high level of energy and intensity and continued to dominate on both ends of the floor.
Rajon Rondo looked like he would continue to struggle early in the game, but his defense caused major problems for the Lakers prolific offense with 6 steals. He also scored 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and had eight assists.
Playing the role of distributor, Finals MVP Paul Pierce had 10 assists and scored 17 points on a night where he did not have to score. Garnett bounced back big with 26 points and 14 rebounds.
Allen came back from the eye injury to score 26 points and tie the NBA Finals single-game record with seven 3-pointers and break the Finals record for 22 in a series, topping the previous high of 17.
Bryant finished with 22 points and shot 7-22 from the field. His supporting cast was no better as Odom scored 14 points only after the game was already decided and Gasol had 11 points and 8 rebounds.
