The Celtics outrebounded the Lakers 41-34 last night but it wasn’t until the 4th quarter when they outscored the Lakers 36-27 that the game was decided. Paul Pierce led the way for the Celtics last night with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. Kevin Garnett pitched in with 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot in 27 minutes on the floor. Ray Allen (12 points) and Rajon Rondo (10 points) helped out a little bit. But this game was won because of the bench as Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Nate Robinson gave the Celtics a huge boost off the bench. Davis only played 22 minutes last night but that didn’t stop him from scoring 18 points, grabbing 5 rebounds and stealing the ball twice. Nate Robinson was also electric off the bench with 12 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in only 17 minutes. The Celtics have tied up the NBA Finals at 2 games apiece.

The Celtics showed heart last night as they cut a 17-point Lakers’ lead to 1 in the 4th quarter but they still fell short. The Celtics were outrebounded 43-35 last night and it didn’t help matters at all. Kevin Garnett finally showed up in this series as he led the way for the Celtics with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Paul Pierce didn’t have his best game last night finishing with 15 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Glen “Big Baby” Davis was tough especially in the 4th quarter as he finished up with 12 points and 3 rebounds in only 24 minutes on the floor. Rajon Rondo wasn’t as electric as usual last night as he finished up with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals. The Celtics are now down 2-1 in this series.

The Celtics wanted this game more than the Lakers did as they outscored them 31-22 in the 4th quarter. Ray Allen was on fire last night as he was 8 of 11 from three point range and he led the way for the Celtics with 32 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Rajon Rondo was also outstanding for the Celtics last night with 19 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. Kendrick Perkins was solid inside with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists last night. Paul Pierce only shot 2 of 11 shooting from the floor but he still finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. This series is tied 1-1 and it’s shifting to Boston.

The Celtics got outrebounded 42-31 last night and they fell behind 84-64 in the first three quarters which were the two biggest reasons for the loss last night. Paul Pierce led the way for the Celtics last night with 24 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocked shots. Kevin Garnett finished up with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. He needs to do better on the boards and defensively if the Celtics are going to win this series as Pau Gasol outplayed him. Rajon Rondo pitched in with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists last night. Ray Allen had 12 points in 27 minutes but that was all he contributed to this game. The Celtics are down 1-0 in this series.

This is a rematch of the 2007-08 NBA Finals won by the Celtics in six games. This time around the Lakers seem to be a little bit better than the 2008 version due to the arrival of Ron Artest who will have to deal with Paul Pierce who was MVP of the Finals in 2008. Here is a closer look at the matchups in this series:

POINT GUARD: Rajon Rondo is banged up right now but he won’t have to work as hard as usual on defense as Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar are not big time offensive players. Rondo has started 17 games this post season and he has averaged 41.4 minutes, 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 10.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game. The Celtics need him to be healthy enough to play his usual game or they could be in for some trouble.

Derek Fisher will have his hands full in this series as Rondo is both faster and stronger than him. Fisher has started 16 games this post season and he is averaging 33.8 minutes, 11.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Fisher makes some big time shots when the games get big so Rondo will have to stay on him tight.

EDGE: CELTICS

SHOOTING GUARD: Ray Allen might be playing his last series as a member of the Boston Celtics so he will be very motivated on both ends of the court and he will have to be as he will be dealing directly with Kobe Bryant. Allen has started 17 games for the Celtics this post season and he is averaging 38.2 minutes, 16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He will have to keep Bryant busy at both ends of the court or the Celtics could be in some trouble in this series.

Kobe Bryant has been banged up all season long for the Lakers this year. But he is still playing at a very high level in the playoffs for the Lakers. Bryant has started 16 games for the Lakers this post season and he is averaging 39.6 minutes, 29.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game. The Lakers hope that Bryant has one more big series in him and their is no reason to think he won’t.

EDGE: LAKERS

SMALL FORWARD: The last time these two teams played in the NBA Finals Paul Pierce was the MVP but this time he will have to deal with Ron Artest. Pierce has started 17 games in the playoffs this year and he is averaging 38.3 minutes, 19.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The Celtics need Pierce to play well or they are not going to win this series.

Ron Artest was brought in specifically for a series like this one as he is still a good defensive player. But with Andrew Bynum ailing a bit they could use more offense out of him in this series. Artest has started 16 games in the playoffs this year and he is averaging 36.8 minutes, 11.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

EDGE: CELTICS

POWER FORWARD: Kevin Garnett has been playing dirty in the post season but he has been very effective. He will try to get into Pau Gasol’s head early and often in this series. Garnett has started 16 games in the playoffs this year and he is averaging 34.0 minutes, 14.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He no doubt will be throwing a lot of elbows in this series.

Pau Gasol is by far the second best player on the Lakers. He becomes even more important in this series due to Andrew Bynum being a tad gimpy. Gasol has started 16 games in the playoffs this year and he is averaging 38.8 minutes, 20.0 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. Gasol is the better player at this point in his career but K.G. could also rise up to the challenge.

EDGE: LAKERS

CENTER: Kendrick Perkins provides a lot of muscle on the boards and he’s a solid defender. He has started 17 games for the Celtics this post season and he is averaging 25.5 minutes, 5.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. The Celtics will need him to bang away on a gimpy Andrew Bynum in this series.

Andrew Bynum’s knees are really bothering him but he’s going to try to fight through the pain and play. Bynum has started 16 games in the playoffs for the Lakers this year and he is averaging 24.2 minutes, 9.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. Those type of numbers are not going to be good enough for the Lakers to win this series as Gasol and Bryant won’t be able to beat the Celtics alone.

EDGE: EVEN

BENCH: The Celtics will likely use their bench more than the Lakers in this series. Glen Davis and Rasheed Wallace will be the top interior backups for the Celtics and they are both very physical basketball players. Davis has played in 17 games (1 start) in the playoffs so far and he is averaging 19.9 minutes, 7.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Wallace has played in 17 games (0 starts) in the playoffs for the Celtics and he is averaging 15.6 minutes, 6.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.2 assists per game. His best asset is getting into the heads of his opponents. Tony Allen is the top reserve in the backcourt for the Celtics. He has played in 17 games (0 starts) for the Celtics in the playoffs and he is averaging 16.9 minutes, 5.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Nate Robinson and Michael Finley could also provide a spark offensively if they get into any games for the Celtics.

Lamar Odom is one of the best sixth men in all of basketball as he can play all over the front line. He has played in 16 games (0 starts) this post season for the Lakers and he is averaging 29.7 minutes, 10.6 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. He could have an even bigger role than usual if Andrew Bynum can’t make it through this series. Shannon Brown backs up Kobe and Artest and he’s good at it. Brown has played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Lakers in the playoffs and he is averaging 15.0 minutes, 5.8 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Backup point guard Jordan Farmar is Derek Fisher’s caddy at the point. Farmar has played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Lakers this year and he is averaging 13.3 minutes, 5.3 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Luke Walton and Josh Powell could step in if needed but neither of them have been used much in the playoffs.

EDGE: EVEN

COACH: Doc Rivers always seems to say the right thing to his team to motivate it. He has a career record of 38-26 (59.4%) in the post season with the Celtics. He also outcoached Phil Jackson just two years ago in the NBA Finals.

Phil Jackson, the Zen Master, has been trying to get into the Celtics’ heads through the media. I think it will only rile them up a little bit and the Lakers didn’t need to do that. Jackson has led the Lakers to a 110-54 (67.1%) record in the post season.

EDGE: LAKERS

PREDICTION: The Celtics are going to rise to the challenge. Being on the road hasn’t stopped them against the Magic or the Cavs and it won’t against the Lakers either. I’m going with the Celtics in 7 games.

The Celtics led this game 82-61 after three quarters and they outrebounded the Magic 45-35 which are the reasons why they won this game and are headed back to the NBA Finals. Paul Pierce was on fire as he finished up with 31 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Ray Allen pitched in with 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals in this game. Rajon Rondo was so-so with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists tonight. Nate Robinson was instant electricity off the bench in this game as he finished up with 13 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in only 13 mintues off the bench. The Celtics put the Magic away 4-2 in this series to advance to the NBA Finals and maybe a classic matchup with the Lakers.

The Celtics didn’t play and D last night as the Magic shot 52.2% from the floor and they were outrebounded 42-26 which explains the scoreboard. Rasheed Wallace came to play for the Celtics last night as he finished up with 21 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots in only 18 minutes. Rajon Rondo pitched in with 19 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists last night. Paul Pierce finished up with 18 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. The Celtics are up 3-2 in this series with Game #6 coming up in Boston.

The Celtics couldn’t put the Magic away in Boston last night. Paul Pierce led the way for the Celtics last night stuffing the stat sheet with 32 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. Ray Allen also stuffed the stat sheet with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot last night. Kevin Garnett was tough around the basket as usual with 14 points and 12 rebounds in this game. The Celtics are still up 3-1 in this game as the series shifts to Orlando for Game #5.

The Celtics won this game with defense as they held the Magic to 36.9% shooting from the floor and they outrebounded them 43-36. The Celtics were leading this game 75-47 after three quarters before calling off the dogs. Glen Davis led the way for the Celtics in this game with 17 points and 6 rebounds in 27 minutes. Paul Pierce backed up his tough talk with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Ray Allen was solid but not spectacular as he finished up with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Rajon Rondo only shot 4 of 14 from the floor but he still finished up with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 12 assists and 4 steals. Rasheed Wallace (10 points in 17 minutes) and Kevin Garnett (10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals in only 24 minutes) also helped out the Celtics’ cause last night. The Celtics now hold a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Paul Pierce did not play his best in the first round against the Miami Heat, averaging only 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists while hitting 46% of his shots.  In round two against the Cleveland Cavaliers he was even worse, putting up only 13.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, while shooting only 35% from the field.  Thanks to Rajon Rondo’s great overall play in the first two rounds, along with Ray Allen’s shooting, the Celtics were able to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against an Orlando Magic team that had not even been challenged yet in the playoffs.  Pierce and the Celtics knew coming into this series that it would take more than Rondo filling up the stat sheet for the Celtics to knock off the defending Eastern Conference Champions.  The Celtics needed Pierce to step up his play in this series, and so far so good.  In the first two games (both Boston wins), Pierce is averaging 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and is hitting 58% of his shots on a very efficient 14-24 shooting.  He is also doing a good job of drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line, where he has hit 17-21 (81%) in the two games.  Pierce and the Celtics have a commanding 2-0 lead in the series, but that doesn’t mean they can let up.  Dwight Howard the rest of the Magic are hungry to get back to the NBA Finals, so Pierce and company need to continue to play like they have in the first two games and finish off the Magic in as few games as possible.