The Lakers are the champs for the second time in a row (16th overall), and they earned it. They found a way to win on a night when they shot 32.5 percent from the floor. They found a way to win on a night when they added to their offensive misery by missing 12 free throws. They found a way to win on a night when Kobe Bryant shot an un imaginable 6 for 24.
Yup, in Game 7 of the NBA Finals Kobe Bryant shot 6 for 24. Now he did have 15 rebounds, but they don’t pay him to rebound.
Despite all this, they did win after trailing at every checkpoint and coming from 13 down in the third quarter. The final was 83-79.
“Well, we had 23 offensive rebounds [good for 15 second-chance points],’’ pointed out Jackson. “We had 11 turnovers. That’s how you do it.’’
“It was exactly the kind of game we wanted,’’ sighed Doc Rivers, who may have coached his final game for Boston. “Fisher’s three was the biggest shot of the game, and Kobe’s three foul shots.’’
He was alluding, first of all, to a classically clutch and monstrous 3-pointer by nerveless veteran Derek Fisher, a shot that tied the game at 64-64 with 6:16 remaining. He had come into this game having not hit a three in the first six games, but he hit one for the opening Lakers basket of the night and then he hit what may very well be the last of many icy threes that have contributed to five Lakers championships. When someone writes the next Lakers history, there had damn well better be a chapter on Derek Fisher.
The three Kobe free throws in question came with Boston leading, 59-55, and in reasonable control. He lured Ray Allen into a foul that, following review, resulted in three freebies, and that really hurt.
LA won this game with a run of 9 straight points that carried them from that 64-61 deficit into a 70-64 lead with 4:38 remaining. The Celtics picked a bad time to go cold. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say the Lakers picked a good time to clamp down. During this key stretch Allen (3 for 14) missed an open jumper off a curl, Paul Pierce missed a totally open 3-pointer, and Allen missed a drive.
