LOS ANGELES | Did Bryan Busby predict the collapse, the perfect Boston storm that engulfed the Lakers in the second half of game four of the NBA finals?
Those of you who spent the first half complaining about KMBC weather maven Bryan Busby hogging all the camera time while the Celtics and the Lakers battled at the Staples Center actually owe Katie Horner’s lapdog an apology.
Had you been forced to watch the one-sided and boring opening 24 minutes, you probably would have tuned out and missed one of the greatest comebacks and colossal collapses in the history of sports.
The Celtics trailed by 24 in the second quarter and by 20 with 6 minutes left in the third and somehow rallied to win 97-91, taking control of this best-of-seven series with a 3-1 lead.
It’s difficult to imagine the Lakers recovering from this, the most embarrassing breakdown in an important game since the Buffalo Bills dug out from a 32-point deficit to beat the Houston Oilers in a 1993 NFL playoff game.
This collapse seems much worse. The Lakers are led by the alleged second-best coach in league history (Phil Jackson) and the player most often compared to Michael Jordan (Kobe Bryant). The Zen Master and The Closer got rope-a-doped by The Big Three and Doc Rivers.
“This series is not over,” Jackson said. “It’s not over.”
Yes, it is. The Lakers need to win three straight, including two straight in Boston. No way. Their confidence has to be shaken. And the Celtics have finally figured out a way to get Kevin Garnett on the offensive low block.
Kendrick Perkins’ third-quarter injury turned the game, forcing Rivers to play a small lineup with Garnett at center. KG scored 10 of 16 points and grabbed seven of his 11 rebounds in the second half. Garnett’s presence in the paint created the perfect spacing for the Boston offense. Reserve guard Eddie House and James Posey drained three-pointers. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce slashed to the basket and made midrange jumpers.
After Perkins’ departure, the Celtics closed the third quarter on a 21-3 run that cut Boston’s deficit to two points.
Jackson countered Boston’s small lineup by playing Jordan Farmar more minutes in the second half than starting point guard Derek Fisher. It was a terrible adjustment. Farmar didn’t score and produced one assist in the second half. Why Jackson would sit a proven champion in a must-win finals game is impossible to understand.
“I felt that Jordan’s quickness against Eddie House was probably important for us to have, a little more harassing defense up the court,” Jackson said.
Boston shot 55 percent from the field, 50 percent from the three-point arc and turned the ball over just three times in the second half.
It was one thing when Larry Brown put a coaching clown suit on Jackson with a balanced Detroit squad in the 2004 finals. Now we’re looking at a relatively inexperienced head coach, Doc Rivers, putting a big red shiny nose and floppy shoes on the Zen Master. It’s not a flattering look.
Phil is not responsible for Lamar Odom’s disappearance. Odom, LA’s power forward, followed his brilliant 15-point, seven-for-seven shooting first-half performance by hitting one shot after the break.
I’m telling you the Lakers are the Memphis Grizzlies without Kobe.
Besides Boston fans, the only man thrilled with Los Angeles’ fall is commissioner David Stern. He might be ready for this series to get over so he can quit talking about ex-ref Tim Donaghy’s claims that NBA playoff games have been manipulated by officiating.
Just seconds before the pregame national anthem, Stern completed a standing-room-only, tension-filled news conference, re-discussing Donaghy’s allegations.
Stern’s question-and-answer session in the minutes before tipoff was one of the stranger moments in sports history. Rarely does a league commissioner address such a controversial subject on such a large scale before his sport’s showcase event.
Donaghy and his assertions were on the verge of overshadowing the finals. Not now. We now have a legendary coach to criticize and second-guess. We have a superstar player who has been embarrassed. And we have the league’s most storied franchise to celebrate.
The Boston C Party in Los Angeles is unlikely to be forgotten.
