Final Score: Celtics 103, Lakers 94

The Lakers thoroughly dominated Game 1 of the NBA Finals. L.A. was more physical and dynamic, executed better, and defended perfectly. The only good news for Boston was that they played an awful game, failed to get several of their key players involved, and still only lost by 13.

Game 2 was an entirely different scenario. The Celtics went straight to their two key offensive players early and often, while playing patented Boston physical defense and getting nice contributions from some role players.

Ray Allen scored 32 points, including making a new NBA Finals record 8 three-pointers, and Rajon Rondo recorded his 5th career playoff triple-double for Boston on way to a 103-94 road victory in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. This series is now tied up and headed back to Boston for three straight games.

Allen is one of the all-time great shooters in NBA history, with a shooting stroke that makes all the legends proud. No man shoots a prettier jump shot than Ray Allen, and on this night he stole the show away from Kobe and the Lakers. Allen hit his first 7 three-point shots in the first half, putting up 27 points in a classic display of shooting greatness remisniscent of the likes of Michael Jordan in 1992 against Portland or Kenny Smith in ’94 against the Magic.

Allen’s first three-point attempt in the second half fell through, and that 8th make set a new NBA Finals record for threes in a game. It’s only fitting that one of the top 3 (with Reggie Miller, Larry Bird) shooters in the League’s history is now the holder of the most impressive shooting record on the biggest stage.

Meanwhile, Boston’s offensive catalyst showed up big time in Game 2. Rajon Rondo, the most explosive and dynamic player on the floor, went for 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists for his fifth career triple-double. Most importantly, though, Rondo was the man making all the big plays down the stretch. A player with a reputation as a detrimental late-game leader, due to his inexperience and poor shooting, appears to have firmly shed that label.

With the game tied with 6 minutes to play, Rondo outplayed and outworked Kobe Bryant. Something we’ve never seen before; the Celtics point guard organized every attack down the floor, made a crucial steal in the open floor to lead to an easy transition basket, and even hit two mid-range jumpers down the stretch. The confidence and the execution were there for Rondo, and he was the difference in a tie game in crunch time. Boston, the road team, closed the game on a 19-10 run to win this one by 9 points.

As for Kobe Bryant’s lack of crunch-time heroics, perhaps it’s obvious why this was lacking. The Laker superstar was hit with his 5th personal foul with 10:30 to go in the 4th quarter. It’s incredibly difficult for an aggressive, physical star to play his usual game when he’s got 5 fouls. The Celtics adjusted with the knowledge that the Mamba was skating on thin ice and would not go that extra step to make a risky move that could result in his 6th foul. The tentative Bryant was unable to swing this game in the Lakers’ favor.

Bryant was in foul trouble all game, and played a postseason-low 34 minutes in this game. It was certainly an oddly officiated game. The Lakers had a great free throw advantage (41 L.A. shots to 26 Boston shots), yet it felt like Boston was getting all the calls in the 4th quarter. The most obvious of the questionable calls was a video-reviewed loose ball that was clearly touched last by Kevin Garnett, yet the refs awarded the ball to Boston. What’s the point of late-game instant replay if you’re not going to get it right? The ball was clearly off Garnett.

Speaking of KG, he had another awful game in this one. Garnett had 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists in 24 minutes, and took just 5 shots. He was also in foul trouble for much of the game, but was very ineffective when he was on the floor. Combine KG’s poor effort with an a-typical Paul Pierce off night, and it seems crazy that Boston pulled this one out.

Pierce scored just 10 points in 40 minutes, shooting 2-for-11 from the field.

Meanwhile, Pau Gasol again went off for L.A. It was a huge game for the skilled big man, who scored 25 points with 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 6 blocks. Combining with Gasol was a shockingly spectacular game from Andrew Bynum, who went for 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 blocks for the Lakers in 39 minutes, twice as much time as he has averaged throughout the playoffs.

Gasol and Bynum combined to block 13 shots, and the team’s 14 total blocks set a new NBA Finals record. If Bynum brings the same effort the rest of this series that he did in Game 2, the Lakers have a significantly better chance to win.

But with or without Andrew Bynum, the Lakers are still wondering how they can approach defending the Celtics going forward. I think it’s pretty simple (on paper). The key is to focus on Rondo and Allen, letting Pierce go to work one-on-one and just worrying solely on stopping Rondo’s penetration and keying on Ray Allen on any defensive rotation. This is much, much easier said than done, but it needs to be executed.

Several times in Game 2, the Lakers rotated to double-team Garnett or Pierce and leave Allen as an open shooter with the hopes that a quick close-out and contest would bother the veteran. That one didn’t work out well. The terrific shooter knocked down every open shot on way to breaking the game open in the first half with 7 threes. The Lakers cannot be double-teaming Kevin Garnett, leaving Allen open, and be expecting to win. That’s a flawed defensive strategy.

As for stopping Rondo, that one is much more difficult. In fact, the Boston point guard has taken his game to a superstar level that makes him impossible to shut down. The quirky, crafty moves all over the floor by Rondo make him a one-of-kind playmaker. Still, L.A. needs to put 100% focus into limiting his effectiveness. If Rondo starts going, he’s the most effective player in this series. Kobe Bryant might be more dominant, but Rajon Rondo is the one that most affects a game. He can totally change the pace of a game by himself.

Another key to Game 2 was the play of the bench and role players. Glen Davis severely outplayed Lamar Odom in my battle of the X-factors. That’s a matchup that L.A. expects to win every game, but Odom had just 3 points and 5 assists in Game 2, while Boston’s Big Baby had 8 points and 7 rebounds. Odom has more personal fouls (10) than points scored (8) in the first 2 games of this series.

The rest of Boston’s bench outplayed the Lakers’, as well. Rasheed Wallace had 7 points, 7 rebounds, and played disruptive defense in 18 minutes. And in Rajon Rondo’s only 6 minutes on the bench, Nate Robinson played a fantastic 6-minute stretch including scoring 7 quick points and playing aggressive defense.

Even if Boston only takes 2 out of the next 3 games, they take a 3-2 advantage into the final 2 Los Angeles home games, where they’ve already won once. Of course, none of the next 3 home games are a given for Boston. Each game is its own entity, and the most important game of the series, for the time being, is Game 3.

Get ready for a pivotal, hard-fought, intense, awesome Game 3 in Boston.