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One More To Go
By: cnn.comPosted On: 06/16/2010 12:59 P
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Just a few seconds after seldom-used Boston reserve Shelden Williams missed an uncontested dunk, Kobe Bryant floated to the rim and somehow willed a layup through tight defense to put the Lakers ahead by 22 points.
Just a few seconds after seldom-used Boston reserve Shelden Williams missed an uncontested dunk, Kobe Bryant floated to the rim and somehow willed a layup through tight defense to put the Lakers ahead by 22 points.
It was only the second quarter, but Game 6 was pretty much over. Los Angeles had responded to the threat of elimination from the NBA Finals with the closest thing to a shutout anyone is likely to see in big-time basketball.
Buckle up, Boston and L.A. This epic series between old rivals is going to Game 7.
Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 17 points and 13 rebounds, and the Lakers emphatically earned a grand finale with a 89-67 victory over the Celtics on Tuesday night.
Ron Artest added 15 points for the Lakers, who got their backs off the wall with a dazzling first half. Although the offense was sharp, the Lakers mostly did it with defense, limiting Boston to the second lowest-scoring performance in NBA Finals history. Only Utah's infamous 54-point performance against Chicago in 1998 was worse.
"I was very happy," Bryant said after the defending champions stretched the Finals to the limit for the first time since 2005. "We did a great job defensively. We kept them out of the middle, kept them out of the paint, did a good job on the boards. It was a solid effort by us."
A champion will be crowned Thursday night at Staples Center.
Bryant grabbed 11 rebounds, and Gasol led the Lakers with nine assists in a remarkable bounce-back game for Los Angeles, which dominated from the opening minutes by vacuuming up rebounds -- 13 more than Boston -- and playing relentless defense that limited the Celtics to 33 percent shooting. Two years after the Celtics ended the Finals with a 39-point blowout of the Lakers in Game 6, Los Angeles turned this Game 6 into a long nightmare for Boston.
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