Lakers-Celtics Game Two, Third Quarter: This Way To Garbage Time

> Starts with Gasol not getting the roll, Perkins getting the o board, and Allen hitting. It's 14. Fisher misses a wide open 3, and so far, the Lake Show looks even worse with body language. Perkins gets to the line and hits both, and it's 16, the Celtics' largest lead. Is this going to be a game at all? Odom hits an open jumper, and for a great defensive team, the Celtics really do seem to give up a lot of open looks. It really is very erratic, their defense; there are stretches where you don't imagine how anyone scores against them, and then others where they look no better than ordinary. One suspects this is what happens when you are doing it more with emotion than coaching...

> A microcosm moment: Kobe drives (!), get to the rack, and scores... and gets called for the instant technical when he barks about not getting a call. Didn't anyone tell the refs that the MVP usually gets a call, or at the very least, the benefit of not getting the T when they question not getting the call?

> Pierce turns, and again, the Celts are keeping a team that isn't playing well around. Odom misses a jam on KG pressure, and Pierce hits a 3, making it 16 again. Maybe they really are just the better team? Perkins takes a foul on the play for no good reason, and it's his fourth, and it's telling.. Refs give a cheapie to Pierce, his third, and Radmanovic answers with a three. The Lakers are picking it up.

> Bryant hits a tough driving bank. One suspects that he's going to, at some point, just decide to make the refs look ridiculous by driving and forcing it... and he's starting to hit. Gets to the line against Allen, finally, and hits both to cut it back to 13. Rondo turns and gets his third. Bryant to Odom to Gasol for a slam, and the Lakers have a definite pulse.

> Pierce misses, but KG boards and abuses Odom; Bryant gets a roll and is now 7 of 14 from the field. Rondo misses badly. Gasol hits a flat footed free throw for two, and the guys in purple have remarkably better body language. It's 9. Bryant is animated on the bench, and the crowd seems anxious. Very interesting.

> A Pierce miss, and this is what's lacking from Kobe's game -- they have numbers, and he doesn't push. Sloppiness ensues from that, really. Radmanovic misses, and Pierce answers. One suspects that if Bryant didn't have the foul trouble, he'd be on him... but Kobe's passive again, and Radmanovic is killing them on both ends, as Pierce scores again on a back door cut. Bryant misses and gets no call, and the Celtics answer again, and the lead is 15. Bryant misses a long and bad 3, but the Lakers keep it on Odom spiking the ball on an out of bounds Brown. Walton misses, and Bryant is showing more care to the refs than the game. Allen 3 makes it 18. A Kobe turn, and Rondo to Powe makes it 20, and, in all likelihood, the 2-0 series lead.

Who said the Celtics don't have definitive runs? That was 11-4 in a heartbeat, with no Phil Jackson timeout (note that no analyst is calling him on that), with no Bryant drive to force a call, with no traps on Rondo to make it difficult on him (he's got 11 assists already)... I swear, it's like the team have changed jerseys. And coaches.

> With 1:20 left in the third, Jackson benches Bryant. Telling. Will the Lakers bench make this at all intersting? Odom picks up his fifth on a drive to the hoop, and, um, you might have put the wrong guy on the bench there, Philip. Allen misses. Gasol is the only starter, and the Lakers turn; Powe slams. Will the Celtics sweep this series? Vujacic answers, and a terribly disinterested trap doesn't do much. Rondo to Powe for another slam ends the third, and the Celtics are up 22, and I don't think they've had an easier time since the regular season. Garbage Time Awaits!