It was a one-sided second quarter from an officiating standpoint. I can't dispute that at all. There was a 3-4 minute stretch where every call went the Celtics way. Honestly, it felt like the stretch in the 3rd quarter of Game 6 against Detroit where Bennett Salvatore went into "there's no way the Celtics win this game" mode. I felt it when it hurt us, I have to feel it and comment on it when it helps us.
That said, it was the second quarter. It helped us to a 12 point lead at the half. From that point, though, it's all the Lakers' fault, and it was the 3rd quarter, not the 2nd, that won the game for the Celtics. And from that point on, any foul/free throw differential was the result of the Celtics being far more aggressive, taking the ball to the rim, and the Lakers being disheartened and repeatedly settling for jumpers. If you don't try to get in the lane, you're not going to get foul calls.
Kobe should have gone to the free throw line a couple more times in the first half. Powe probably got one more trip to the line than he should have. However, most of those calls were legit. The real difference at that point was LA's inability to keep a man on Leon inside - they played the sieve defense Laker fans have been denying the existence of. They let Powe be wide open, and when he went up for shots, they fouled him. On the other hand, they weren't getting inside nearly enough on their end, and fouls don't often get called on jump shots. It was especially surprising to me because I thought Pau Gasol was playing very well and they should have used him more.
And while the refs did give the Celtics a lot in the second, think back to that third quarter in Game 6 against Detroit. The refs left it open in the fourth, and it was Pierce who went into "there's no way we're losing this game" mode. The Lakers didn't do that in the 3rd when they could and should have. When they went on a 10-3 run in the third and cut it to 9, Doc called an excellent timeout and we came back with a 15-2 run, unaided by any calls from the officials, to close out the quarter, highlighted by three huge plays from Leon (the alley-oop layin, the dunk assisted by Pierce and the dunk assisted by Rondo). The Lakers have nobody to blame for that except themselves.
And for all the attention on Wilbon complaining about it, I have to give credit to J.A. Adande, an unabashed Laker fan and LA writer, who submitted this passage in his game summary:
"Not even the extended make-up calls throughout the second half evened the balance in the Lakers' minds. There was an unnecessary foul on Ray Allen, a questionable offensive foul on Rajon Rondo and Lamar Odom rode P.J. Brown out of bounds on a rebound attempt with no call.
"Most blatant of all, Vladimir Radmanovic took so many steps he looked like he was training for the Boston Marathon when he went in for the breakaway dunk that cut the Celtics' lead to four.
"The Lakers had their breaks, too, and couldn't capitalize."
That's it right there. I live in SoCal, and listened to Lakers-sympathetic radio shows after the game last night and this morning. While a lot of fans are pointing to officiating, one guy on ESPN 710 correctly said, "the Lakers got blown out tonight 108-102. Don't be fooled by the final score, this was an absolute blowout by the Celtics." The hosts generally pointed out that despite any questionable officiating, the Lakers refused to play defense and refused to try to attack the rim.
The officials had an impact on the game, for sure, but the Lakers had every opportunity to come back and take that game. Their refusal to play defense in the third quarter and their decision to settle for jumpshots from the second quarter on is what lost the game for them.
Topic: Lakers crying and national media (Read 4605 times)