LOS ANGELES (AP) -Kobe Bryant realizes the Los Angeles Lakers are in deep trouble. He believes there’s only one reasonable way to approach such a grim situation.
“I’m not thinking about beating them three straight,” Bryant said after the Lakers collapsed in the last 18 minutes Thursday night, resulting in a 97-91 loss to the Boston Celtics that put them on the brink of elimination from the NBA finals.
“We’re thinking about beating them on Sunday,” Bryant said. “Then, you move on from there. Take one swing at a time to chop down a tree. We’ll take care of business on Sunday.”
The Lakers led by as many as 24 points in the second quarter and by 20 midway through the third before the Celtics began one of the biggest comebacks in finals history to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the comeback was the biggest in the finals since 1971, surpassing Houston’s comeback from a 20-point deficit to Orlando in the first game of the 1995 finals.
The odds are stacked heavily against the Lakers. For one thing, no team has ever overcome a 3-1 deficit to win the finals. For another, they’ve got to win Sunday night at Staples Center and then win twice in Boston, where the Celtics have a 12-1 postseason record.
“We let a huge opportunity slip away, so I’m upset, hurt, disappointed,” Bryant said. “It’s a huge loss, no doubt about it. We’ve got to take the good things that we did well in this game, understand what we did wrong in the third quarter and move on from there. They played great in the third quarter. We played like crap.”
After two free throws by Vladimir Radmanovic with 6:04 left in the third quarter gave the Lakers a 70-50 lead, they were outscored 47-21 to finish the game. It all started with a 21-3 run to finish the third period.
“It’s a humbling experience, to be putting the pressure on them and then to be sitting in here thinking about how we’re going to come back from 3-1,” Lamar Odom said in a hushed Lakers’ dressing room. “They beat us in the second half with their second effort, every way you can basically lose a game.
tum.”
Odom, who struggled in the first three games of the finals, came alive in this one with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. But he did most of his damage in the first half, getting all but four of his points, all but two of his rebounds and all but one of his assists.
Bryant shot 6-for-19 from the field and scored 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. The other Los Angeles starters all reached double figures, but their contributions were minimal down the stretch. Bryant shot 4-of-8 and his teammates went 4-of-13 for eight points in the final period.
“We were really tentative at the end of the game with the ball in our hands,” said Pau Gasol, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds. “It just didn’t make things easy for ourselves.”
Bryant had three points and three fouls in the first half, failing to make a field goal until the opening minute of the third quarter. The Celtics have held him to 38 field goals in 88 attempts.
“I saw three, four bodies all night,” he said. “It was about making a pass and trying to get guys open opportunities.”
Bryant had 10 assists, but could have had several others had his teammates not misfired time and again in the second half.
Sasha Vujacic, a hero in the Lakers’ 87-81 victory in Game 3, shot 1-for-9 and had three points in Game 4. And he allowed Ray Allen to drive around him for a game-clinching layup with 16.4 seconds remaining, giving the Celtics a five-point lead.
“He went to the basket. Good basket. I don’t know what to say,” a downcast Vujacic said. “I kind of stepped back and gave him the room to operate and he went to the basket. It’s a tough loss. It hurts. But we’re not done yet.”
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said his players were “very depressed” after the game.
He said he told them the series isn’t over.
“They’re resilient. They have disappointments, they come back,” Jackson said. “It’s about team effort now, we have to make sure that we have a good collective energy again, come out and play that first half like we did before.
“Our back is against the wall, but it’s just a game at a time, and that’s one thing we have to understand.”
Add A Comment