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Finally, the Lakers needed one to stop to get the ball back with time left in regulation, one defensive stand inside the final 40 seconds. Rivers had called for a pick-and-roll with Pierce and Allen, but the coach could see right away that Pierce had nothing left on offense, that Bryant had sapped so much strength out of him. “Paul was exhausted. He didn’t even want to come to the ball on that play.”
Which Allen recognized right away, and the symmetry was unmistakable. In that halftime locker room, in the uncertainty of an 18-point deficit, Pierce made a dramatic statement with his teammates watching, with a buoy needed. “I want Kobe,” he said, and that’s just what these Celtics needed to witness together. They needed to see that their captain wasn’t running away from Bryant, but running to him.
And now, with those 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Pierce had gone as far as he could go. And Allen could see it, too. Yes, he had played the full 48 minutes, but his body was still energized, his spirit willing to be the closer that everyone insisted Bryant would be over and over in these Finals.
So, Allen told Garnett to move away, let him go one-on-one with Sasha Vujacic and Allen made a hard dribble to the rim, and another, and soon the oddest thing happened: He was past him, and to his shock, “I had the whole basket free and clear.”
Pau Gasol hesitated on leaving Garnett and there was no last line of defense – just a humiliating Lakers breakdown, a Celtic driving uncontested for a layup to make it 96-91 with 15.7 seconds left. Boston had worn down these Lakers to a nub – with mind and body.
Which Allen recognized right away, and the symmetry was unmistakable. In that halftime locker room, in the uncertainty of an 18-point deficit, Pierce made a dramatic statement with his teammates watching, with a buoy needed. “I want Kobe,” he said, and that’s just what these Celtics needed to witness together. They needed to see that their captain wasn’t running away from Bryant, but running to him.
And now, with those 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Pierce had gone as far as he could go. And Allen could see it, too. Yes, he had played the full 48 minutes, but his body was still energized, his spirit willing to be the closer that everyone insisted Bryant would be over and over in these Finals.
So, Allen told Garnett to move away, let him go one-on-one with Sasha Vujacic and Allen made a hard dribble to the rim, and another, and soon the oddest thing happened: He was past him, and to his shock, “I had the whole basket free and clear.”
Pau Gasol hesitated on leaving Garnett and there was no last line of defense – just a humiliating Lakers breakdown, a Celtic driving uncontested for a layup to make it 96-91 with 15.7 seconds left. Boston had worn down these Lakers to a nub – with mind and body.
