Celtics win Game 1 of Finals

Boston cobbles together win after a run of bad luck

By Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published June 5, 2008 at 9:53 p.m.

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Boston's Kevin Garnett celebrates during the Celtics Game 1 win over the Lakers in the NBA Finals in Boston.

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BOSTON — For a short time in the third quarter, it looked as if Boston's leprechauns had taken a coffee break.

Celtics forward Paul Pierce went down with a strained right knee with 6:49 left in the third quarter and was carted out in a wheelchair. Minutes later, starting Celtics center Kendrick Perkins limped to the locker room with a left ankle sprain.

But this bad luck didn't last long. Pierce miraculously returned and helped spur the Celtics to a 98-88 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night at TD Banknorth Garden in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Perkins never came back, but nobody noticed.

As for Pierce, fans soon were yelling, "Willis Reed," referring to the gallant New York center who limped out for Game 7 of the 1970 Finals and spurred the Knicks to victory against the Lakers.

Pierce went down after he banged into Perkins while defending against Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who drilled a running jumper. Pierce was carried off the court by teammates Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine and soon was placed in a wheelchair.

The agony was short-lived. Pierce returned to the bench and got a huge ovation and went into to the game with 5:04 left in the third quarter.

"God just sent this angel down and said, 'Hey, you're going to be all right and get back out there. Show them what you've got,' " Pierce said.

Pierce showed plenty. He scored 11 of his 22 points the rest of the way and the Celtics, who had had trailed 62-58 when Pierce went down, cruised to victory.

Pierce's biggest points came on consecutive three-pointers with 1:26 and 1:04 left in the third. That turned a 71-69 deficit into a 75-71 Celtics lead and Boston never trailed again.

"Obviously, it was great to see him come back and, obviously, we were concerned when he went down," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "A guy grabs his knee, you know. There's no good thoughts. . . . Obviously, him coming back lifted us up."

But the Celtics wouldn't have won had forward Kevin Garnett not lifted them in the first half, scoring 16 of his team-high 24 points.

Garnett kept the Celtics in the game while the other two members of their star trio, Pierce and guard Ray Allen., combined for a meager nine first-half points.

Pierce wasn't himself in the first half, scoring only three points, as the Celtics fell behind 51-46. But he wasted no time in the second, scoring Boston's first eight points, including four when he hit a three-pointer, was fouled by Vladimir Radmanovic and converted the free throw.

So put Pierce down for 19 points in the second half, when Boston outscored the Lakers 52-37. And put the Celtics down for their first Finals win since 1987, when they lost to the Lakers in their previous Finals appearance.

"I heard it pop, and I was in pain and I couldn't move," Pierce said of his injury. "When I first fell to the ground, I heard a pop in my knee and all I felt was pain. I thought I tore something.

"I was just in pain where I just couldn't move. Once I got to the (locker room), I felt on it. . . . I tried to put weight on it. Wasn't bad . . . I just wanted to get back out there."

Pierce was diagnosed with a strained right meniscus. He said he got through on "adrenaline" and offered no assurances when asked if he would be able to play in Game 2 on Sunday.

"We'll see," Pierce said. "I mean, it's in pain. I was able to get through (Thursday)."

It wasn't as if Rivers was dispensing medical opinions.

" 'Doc' is a nickname," said Rivers, who commended his players for keeping their composure when Pierce went out. "It's not for real."

Uncertain of the future, Pierce sat stone-faced on the dais during the postgame news conference. So did Garnett, sitting beside him.

In fact, nobody seemed to be in a good mood afterward. Bryant, the league's Most Valuable Player who shot only 9-of-26 and scored 24 points, sure wasn't.

"I had some great looks," Bryant said. "They just didn't stay down. I just pile it in with the other bad-shooting games I've had and flush it and come back Game 2 and, hopefully, I get the same looks."

Give the Celtics plenty of credit, though, for shutting down Bryant. In addition to scoring 19 points, Allen played stellar defense.

In the second half, the Celtics held the Lakers to 33.3 percent shooting. In the first half, the Lakers had singed the nets to the tune of 50 percent.

"It was a tale of two halves," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

"We didn't play any in the first half," Rivers said about defense.

At least the Celtics rebounded in both halves. For the game, they hammered the Lakers 46-33 on the boards, with Garnett grabbing 13.

But nobody rebounded better than Pierce. While Rivers said Perkins didn't return because the center told him he was only at "60 percent," Pierce looked better after he got hurt.

There was no doubt the leprechauns were on Pierce's side after he went down. But will they work on weekends?

Pierce will find out by Sunday.

CASSELL TO NUGGETS?

Boston guard Sam Cassell told the Rocky Mountain News before Game 1 of the Finals he "definitely will talk'' to the Nuggets when he becomes a free agent on July 1.

Cassell, 38, reiterated what he said in October. He wants to play one more season before getting into coaching, and he believes Nuggets coach George Karl can help.

"George is a hell of a coach, and he's also a good friend,'' said Cassell, who played for Karl in Milwaukee.

After Cassell's contract was bought out by the Clippers in February, he considered signing with the Nuggets but chose Boston because of its better record.

"I had some heart-to-heart talks with George, and he understood,'' Cassell said. "Look where I am now.''

KAREEM WHO?

When Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, below, arrived at TD Banknorth Garden, he was told by security he was at the wrong entrance. Abdul-Jabbar spent 20 minutes seeking an entrance where he would be accepted.

Was this because Abdul-Jabbar was in Boston, where he was a villain during three Finals in the 1980s?

"Yeah,'' the Lakers special assistant coach said. "(Red Auerbach is) up there smoking a cigar.''

DAD TO FINALS

Lakers guard Coby Karl expects father George to attend the Finals. The Nuggets coach, who underwent hip-replacement surgery May 20, has been cleared to travel and is eyeing Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles.

HE SAID IT

"I wear it during the season here and there, but during the playoffs, I've been wearing it every game."

James Posey, of Boston, a former Nuggets forward, on the title ring he won with the Miami Heat in 2006.

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