Celtics Lakers

Latest news about Celtics Lakers: when Rasheed Wallace started in place of the injured Kendrick Perkins, Wallace’s old throwaway line may be the simplest description of Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. It was a game marked by dogged defense, sloppy play, and, eventually, shot-making.

And it may mark the end of the Big Three Era in Boston.

The Celtics fell to the Lakers 83-79 Thursday night at Staples Center, one great, proud franchise earning its 16th championship at the expense of another great, proud franchise. The Celtics led for the majority of the game, giving up the lead for the first time in the second half on a Kobe Bryant free throw with 5:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. Bryant received help from Pau Gasol and Ron Artest to close out the game and clinch the title.

“It was a hell of a series,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “I thought both teams played terrific. I thought both teams played hard. It was a tough game for either team to lose.”

If this was the last chapter of The Big Three Era, it was a fitting way to close the book. The Celtics went down on their own terms, in their style of game. A team that has been called too old all season looked too experienced as the Celtics clamped down defensively for the first three quarters of Game 7.

When the season began the Celtics were talking about 70 wins. In Game 7 of the NBA Finals, it seemed like a race for who could get to 70 points.

“We liked the game,” said Rivers. “It was exactly the type of game that we wanted.”

The team that won the first quarter in the previous six games went on to win each of those games, and the same could be said for the team that won the rebounding battle in Games 1 through 6. But that combination was thrown out the window in the first quarter of Game 7, the Lakers out-rebounding the Celtics 16-9 but trailing 23-14 after one. The Lakers had 11 offensive rebounds to none for the Celtics in the first, but tenacious Celtics defense held Los Angeles to 6-of-27 shooting.

“We knew there was a long time left,” said Gasol. “We knew we weren’t playing our best. And we knew that we still had a chance, it was just about getting a few stops in a row and getting a few plays on offense together and just get ourselves going and just shake off all that tension, excitement that Game 7 of the NBA Finals carries.”