We all know by now that Ray Allen shined brighter than any of the Hollywood stars sitting courtside out in L.A. for Game 2. His eight 3’s set an NBA Finals record. Hopefully, you enjoyed the display because it was anything but beautiful back in Boston for Game 3. Instead, the Celtics' guard found himself almost making the history books again — he was one shy of tying the most bricks tossed up without making a field goal in a Finals game. Ouch.
Allen finished 0-for-13 from the field and 0-for-8 from outside the arc. With less than a minute to play and the Celtics trailing by four, Allen put up his final heave from long range for the night. It didn’t go — and Derek Fisher went coast to coast with the rebound, and the foul. Game over.
Fisher was the hero for the Lakers in this one. Doc Rivers put it simply, calling the veteran "the difference in the game." But if Allen, or even Paul Pierce, had a better shooting night — ah, yes. The "if" factor.
What about the officiating factor? Like Allen in Game 1, Pierce dealt with foul trouble Tuesday night. Rivers had strong words after the game about the officiating affecting his captain.
"Paul never got a rhythm," Rivers said. "You know every time he came on the floor, another whistle blows and he had to sit down. He was completely taken out of the game by the foul calls. … He wasn’t allowed to play. They didn’t allow him to play tonight.”
You might as well call that a theme in the series — it has been part of every postgame news conference thus far.
Is it a big loss? Absolutely. Is this series over? The Los Angeles Times seems to think so. They’re using Pierce’s remarks from late in Game 2 against him, right after writing about how much the Celtics stink.
Need I remind that the final score in this one was 91-84? Maybe the question should be: If Allen doesn’t have another oh-fer — and you can hardly expect one of the league’s most clutch 3-point shooters to do that again — and it’s the players and not the officials dominating the game, how good are the Lakers?
