Truth Be Told

The NBA Finals started last night, with the Boston Celtics hosting the Los Angeles Lakers for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series. Boston defeated the Lakers, 98-88, in a game that will be remembered for Paul Pierce's valiant effort after he sprained his right knee in the third quarter. Pierce landed awkwardly on teammate Kendrick Perkins, attempting to challenge a shot by Kobe Bryant. He clutched his knee after the collision, and had to be taken to the locker room in a wheelchair. However, less than two minutes later, The Truth came hopping out onto the court, reminiscent of Willis Reed.

The game was fairly balanced for the majority of the game. Despite the fact that Kobe Bryant went two-for-eight from the field in the first quarter, Boston held just a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Sam Cassell showed why he has two rings in his collection. Cassell had the ability to post up the likes of Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar and shoot the turnaround jumper, on his way to eight points. The Celtics also out-played the Lakers' role players. Sasha Vujacic was just two-for-seven from the field and Fisher had two points after scoring 13 in the first half.

Despite Bryant's continuing struggles, he was able to get Pau Gasol involved in a couple of pick-and-rolls, which lead to an L.A. lead at the break. With just under seven minutes to go in the third quarter, Bryant hit a fade away jumper to give L.A. a 62-58 lead. Pierce had to be carried off the court by his teammates, and the Boston crowd appeared to be deflated.

"I thought that was it," Pierce said. "I mean, I thought ... a lot of things going through my mind. I thought I tore something. Once I heard the pop, and I couldn't move it at first, I thought that was it."

Less than a minute later, Ray Allen hit a big three-pointer to tie the game up at 62. Then, a raucous ovation recognized Double P's return to the court. He had a pad on his right knee, and appeared to be shaken up. But he knew he was fine.

From then on, the Celtics played inspired basketball, which led them to a Game 1 win. Paul Pierce hit two consecutive threes to close out the third quarter with a five-point lead for the C's. The momentum carried into the fourth quarter. With less than nine minutes to go, James Posey hit a cold-blooded three to give Boston an eight-point lead, their largest of the night. The Celtics never relinquished that lead.

The night was finished, rather fittingly, with an exclamation point. With less than two minutes to play, James Posey missed a three-pointer. Kevin Garnett leaped for the board and put the ball down ferociously over Pau Gasol. The Boston crowd sensed a win, and now stand three wins away from their first NBA Title since 1984.

All the credit in the world goes to the Celtics and Doc Rivers. He was able to throw different players at Kobe Bryant: Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and James Posey. Kobe finished just nine-for-26 from the field for 24 points, a sub-par game for the MVP. None one else on the Lakers scored more than 15, while Boston had their Big Three combine for 65 points.

For the Lakers, I would not worry about their defense. They held them under 100 points, and Boston just shot 42% from the field. The problem is that L.A. was just able to get 88 points on the board. Kobe Bryant did have his share of highlights, but was not aggressive enough. The Lakers were just three-of-14 from downtown. A lot of the three-point shooting from Fisher, Vujacic, Vladimir Radmanovic, and so on comes off of Kobe's penetration.

The Lakers can still win this series, but the Celtics have drawn first blood. They are riding a wave of confidence. This will be a long series.