Lakers-Celtics Game Two, Fourth Quarter: Don't Believe the Comeback

> Farmer three after a miss, and it's still Lake Show Bench. Leon Powe goes to the rack and scores, and it's just ole time, with Luke Walton as the matador. Kobe's back and feeds Turiaf for a slam.

> Another signature play; Rondo lobs it to the rim at the clock buzzer, and the miss is an o-board. Bryant finds Turiaf, and even in the crap game, the Celtics are weak on pick and roll. Farmer hits another 3, and maybe he'll have some use at home. Powe gets another call, and here's how good this game is going for the Celtics: KG is hitting fourth quarter jumpers. Powe has 18 in 12 minutes. Sheesh.

> The Lakers part like the Red Sea for Powe to make it 20. Kobe doesn't drive and misses. The Lakers have a big rule tonight: no layups that aren't rim-rattling dunks. KG hits. Bryant responds with Yet Another Jumper. Powe to the line. If there is a Laker with any good feeling about his defensive effort tonight, they're deluded. It's 23 and Utter Garbage; if the Lakers had any kind of sac, there would be a flagrant around now, but I can't imagine it will happen. They Just Don't Care.

> Powe finally misses, but Gasol throws the worst alley oop to Bryant seen outside of an All-Star Game. A Pierce travel is accompanied by laughter; that's how meaningless these minutes are. Radmanovic 3. Mike Breen actually says, "Kobe Bryant has not given up on this game yet." Um, I'm not sure he even gave in on this game; that would involve risking contact, or guarding Paul Pierce.

> Fisher makes both to cut it to 16 with 5:56 left. Whoop De Damn Do. The Celtics run clock, then Pierce gets to the line. You see, Kobe, when you go to the line and look like you aren't afraid of wetting yourself, good things *can* happen. Pierce makes one, and I'm not sure why starters are in right now. Radmanovic misses, but Gasol gets the board and Vujacic hits for 3. A KG miss, but a terrible lack of rebounding, and Allen waltzes in for a bucket. Fisher hits a 3, and it's 13 at 4:24. Can the Lakers make a face-saving run? KG misses. Radmanovic misses, but Gasol doesn't get off the ground, and it's a Celtics board; a make there would have kept it possible, but far from likely. It's 13 with 3:48 left.

> A Posey 3 should end any doubt. Kobe doesn't get the call, but Gasol cleans it. A Kobe 3 makes it 11 at 2:50. It Won't Matter -- at least not for this game. Rondo gets to the line before the TV timeout, and misses the front. A chance? Bryant to the rim, scores, makes it 9, the closest they've been in the second half, but they can't stop Pierce, who now has 26. Bryant answers, but no call, and they're running out of time to trade hoops.

> Fisher steals from Pierce, and Vujacic backs out to an open 3 and hits... and it's 6 with 90 seconds let. Wow? Then, Radmanovic steals and slams, and it's 4 with 63 seconds left. Holy moley. It's a 29-9 run, and I still don't believe, but wow. Better than garbage time, at the very least.

> 1:03 left. Lakers need a stop. Rondo misses. Bryant gets a cheap, dumb foul from Pierce, and will go to the line with 38 seconds left. If he hits both, this is very, very possible. He gets the roll on the first. It's 3 with 38.4 left. He gets the second. Allen almost turn. Pierce with Kobe on him, gets beyond Kobe, and a call on an ugly drive with 22.8 left. He hits the first, and it's 3 with 22.8 left. He hits the second, and Jackson takes a timeout.

> What this run signifies, really, is just how dependent the Celtics are on emotion for defense; when they don't care, they don't defend. KG cursing on the bench. Kobe now has 30. Do the Lakers shoot a 3 right away, or take the drive for two? Neither, and on the most important possession of the game, Bryant never gets the ball back, and Vujacic is blocked on the 3 attempt. That, finally is your ballgame, as Posey hits the free throws. The final possession for the Lakers runs too much clock, Fisher misses, and that's it... Boston 106, Lakers 102.

Despite the final score and lead evaporation from 24 to 2, I'm not sure how much the comeback matters; when the Celtics needed a stop, they always got it, and the Lakers just don't seem to be able to D up, even against a team that has real issues offensively. While I suspect the Lakers will get Game 3, I'm not seeing them coming back to Boston with a 3-2 lead... and there's no way they are winning this series in a seventh game, considering that they've shown none of that closing ability that the world thought they had over the Celtics in the pre-series analysis. The Celtics may very well have finished this series tonight.

Final note... Phil Jackson opens his press conference by noting that Powe got more free throws than his whole team. Welcome to your meme from LakerLand for the next three days...