Rondo, Allen explode as Celtics pull even
LOS ANGELES — When Pau Gasol swatted Kendrick Perkins' hook shot right back where it came from, Rajon Rondo scooped it up. Boston's slick point guard leaped to the rim and scored before Gasol even knew what hadn't hit him, giving the Celtics a fourth-quarter lead they didn't relinquish in Game 2 of the NBA finals.
While Ray Allen's finals-record eight 3-pointers gave the Celtics some glitz, Rondo's triple-double exemplified much of the grit in their 103-94 victory Sunday night, evening the series before the teams headed to Boston.
The Celtics' starting guards somehow held together a choppy, foul-plagued game in which their big men were roundly outplayed by the Lakers, who blocked a finals-record 14 shots and scored relentlessly down low in another foul-choked finals game.
But Gasol and Andrew Bynum couldn't block any of the shots that mattered most: Those 3-pointers by Allen, who scored 27 of his 32 points in the first half, and 10 fourth-quarter points from Rondo, whose 19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists somehow still didn't cover his impact on this equalizer.
"They both were terrific," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "We needed points, and Ray gave them to us. Rondo did a terrific job finding him. ... He's our quarterback, and he does a lot of stuff for us. He was special."
Game 3 is Tuesday night, the first of three straight in Boston.
Kobe Bryant scored 21 points while battling more foul trouble for the Lakers, who couldn't catch up to Boston's dynamic guards in Los Angeles' first home playoff loss since last season's Western Conference finals, ending a 12-game streak and a 9-0 start to these playoffs. Gasol had 25 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers, and Bynum added 21 points and six rebounds.
The Lakers' aura of invincibility at Staples Center didn't make it through the fourth quarter. Bryant picked up three fouls while shooting poorly in the first half. He committed his fifth early in the fourth quarter, keeping him shy of 30 points for just the sixth time in the postseason.
"It's a series," Bryant yawned. "You're trying to stay even-keel. You don't get too high, don't get too low after a win or a loss. You just go into the next one."
That's exactly what Allen and Rondo did after mostly forgettable performances in the finals opener. While Allen scored just 12 points through constant foul trouble, Rondo started slowly and never catalyzed the Celtics' offense with the same flair he showed while growing into the Celtics' biggest offensive threat in these playoffs.
Although it wasn't as gaudy as his monstrous 29-point, 18-rebound, 13-assist Game 4 in the second round against Cleveland, Rondo's 10-point fourth quarter against the Lakers looms among his largest achievements — particularly if Boston gets rolling toward its 18th championship this week.
