2008 NBA FINAL
June 15, 2008
Staples Center, Los Angeles
Complete Original Broadcast
Commercials still intact
As in Game 4, the Lakers jumped out to an early lead, leading 43–24 with 11 minutes to play in the second quarter.
And as in Game 4, the Celtics came back, taking a 62–60 lead behind the strong play of Paul Pierce.
The Lakers finally regained their composure, outscoring Boston 24–18 in the 3rd quarter.
In previous games, the Lakers were outscored by Boston in the 3rd quarter (22–31 in Game 1,
19–29 in Game 2, 17–25 in Game 3, and 15–31 in Game 4) by a total of 43 points (73–116).
The Lakers built a 14-point lead in the 4th quarter,
but the Celtics again came back with a 16–2 run to tie the game at 90.
With less than one minute left in the game, the Celtics had the ball with the Lakers leading 97–95.
Pierce beat Bryant off the drive, but Bryant knocked the ball out of Pierce's hands from behind.
Lamar Odom picked up the loose ball and passed downcourt to Bryant for a breakaway dunk,
giving the Lakers a 99–95 lead.
The Lakers went on to win 103–98, pushing the series to six games.
Kobe Bryant shot 8 of 21 from the floor for 25 points, to go with five steals.
Pau Gasol contributed 19 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists, Odom 20 points and 11 rebounds.
For Boston, Pierce had a memorable 38 point effort, but outside of Allen (16 points) and Garnett
(13 points and 14 rebounds) did not receive enough support from his teammates to clinch the championship at Staples.
As for the odds stacked against the Lakers to come back from a 3–1 deficit,
Jackson said, "We're young enough and dumb enough to do this.
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2008 NBA FINAL
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