The unexpected heroes.

A strong effort from the bench propelled the Celtics to a 96-89 victory in Game 4 of the Finals. Glen Davis scored 18 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter, during a critical 12-2 run that put the C’s in the driver seat of a must-win game. Rajon Rondo resumed his role as a facilitator as Boston outscored Los Angeles 15-2 in fast break points.

Celtics captain, Paul Pierce quietly steered the Celtics towards victory, scoring a subtle 19 points while tallying six assists and five boards. Nate Robinson scored 12 points in 17 minutes and provided an emotional lift for a Celtics team that struggled through 3 quarters. Ray Allen rebounded from his disappointing performance in Game 3, scoring 12 points and adding five assists.

The Lakers were led by the dynamic duo of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Kobe poured in 33 points while Pau contributed 21 points and 6 boards. The rest of the team struggled–Lamar Odom was the only other Laker to reach double figures, scoring just 10 points in 39 minutes of action.

Less than a minute into the fourth quarter Pau Gasol made a shot to give the Lakers the lead. Almost immediately, however, the Celtics bench went on on a 12-2 run to taking control of the game. Glen Davis, Rasheed Wallace, Nate Robinson and Tony Allen sparked a Celtic surge that the Lakers would not recover from. The unit meshed beautifully, unfazed even after Rasheed Wallace and Nate Robinson both received technical fouls in a matter of minutes.

The game wasn’t pretty, but the Celtics won crucial categories that Doc Rivers has stressed all series. The Celtics pulled down 16 offensive rebounds that parlayed into 20 second chance points, while outscoring the Lakers 52-32 in the paint. Game 5 is on Sunday at the TD Garden. By winning the Celtics have tied the series at two games a piece, and guaranteed themselves a trip back to Los Angeles.  They have also avoided the dreaded mission impossible, 3-1 series deficit–though I doubt anyone in this camp even considered that a possibility.

Rondo's face pretty much summed up the Celtics' day.

Less than four minutes into the first quarter of Game 1, Ron Artest hit a 22 foot jump shot from the top of the key. When looking back at the Celtics loss, I am struck by this moment not because Ron decided to pull from a step inside the three point line, (a shot coaches often refer to as, “the worst shot in basketball”) but because Artest’s bucket would prove to be a red herring for what the C’s would endure in Game 1.

By now, you’re all aware of the beating the Celtics were handed last night. Out of respect for you I will avoid the statistical breakdown, as I’m sure many of you can regurgitate it from memory. Instead, let’s examine Game 1 as a narrative, highlighting the important plot points of this modern tragedy. The following is a breakdown of moments that were crucial to the development of Act 1 of the NBA Finals.

1. 27 seconds into the game Paul Pierce and Ron Artest got tangled up under the boards. Minor showmanship and dick-measuring ensued. I expected nothing less — this is a Celtics-Lakers championship series. What I didn’t expect was Joe Crawford’s issuance of a double technical foul. To employ my favorite rhetorical–really, dude?  Did you forget to take your Nootropic medicine yesterday? The whole ‘rivalry’ thing must have slipped Joe’s mind. It’s amazing to me how soft the league has become, throwing out Techs like they’re British Petroleum stock. Kevin McHale probably threw up in his mouth a little when he saw that call.

2. Less than 2 minutes and 20 seconds into the game, Derek Fisher made his first shot attempt. Congratulations, D-Fish. I sincerely believe that this was the only time I’ve seen you make your first field goal attempt in a game. On a good night, it takes Derek Fisher three or four shots to get going. From the outset it appeared that Lady Luck was wooed by the bright lights of Hollywood and she would spend the evening sitting squarely in Jack’s lap.

3. With 6 minutes and 34 seconds left in the first quarter, Ray Allen picked up his second personal foul. Allen would be plagued by foul trouble all night, scoring 12 points in only 27 minutes of action. You’d think Jesus might have gotten a little more love in the City of Angels.

4. With 5 minutes and 41 seconds left in the half, Andrew Bynum yammed one off a pass from a cutting Derek Fisher. It was a forceful dunk, almost Shaquille-esque. At that moment it was apparent that, at least for Game 1, Bynum wasn’t going to play like the Pillsbury Doughboy. Bynum ended with a respectable 10 points and 6 rebounds. Still, I wouldn’t worry about his influence throughout the series, as Andrew appears inherently soft. If KG and Perkins don’t break him, his knee, or perhaps Kobe’s yelling, will.

5. Rondo ended the half with a fade away 21 footer next to the Celtics bench, and the C’s were down 50-41 going into the half.

I thought this shot would provide a critical boost as the Celtics entered the locker room. Specifically, I hoped that draining such a difficult shot would give Rondo confidence to let go from the perimeter. From the outset, Kobe had made it clear that he would not track Rondo beyond 18 feet, giving him limitless freedom to launch from the outside. Obviously, perimeter shooting is the most underdeveloped aspect of Rondo’s game. Still, the Celtics are going to struggle if he continues to pass up wide open looks. Rondo needs to, at the very least, create the illusion that he is confident shooting from three. If Rondo can sink a couple of outside shots Bryant will be forced to extend his defense; thereby creating ideal Rondo’ing conditions.

6. 4:48 left in the third quarter, Ron Artest dropped another half-baked attempt from just inside the three point line. You can’t expect to win when this continues to happen. Under most circumstances, these are the shots you hope for, moments when Ron Artest’s severely malnourished mind works in the Celtics favor. Unfortunately, like the saying goes, every dog has his day.

7. With 2 minutes and 12 seconds left in the 3rd, Kobe Bryant caught a transition lob pass from Derek Fisher to put the Lakers up 13, 75-62. In the words of ESPN anchor, Neil Everett, “boy, that one really electrified that LA crowd.”  Everett sounded genuinely surprised, which makes sense–it takes nothing short of basketball magic to stimulate the jaded, superficial Los Angeles crowd.

8. 6:24 Ron Artest blocked and stripped Glen Davis. Artest proceeded to perform a touchdown-style dance, while Jordan Farmar recovered the ball and threw a length of the court assist to Pau Gasol. I’m sure Kobe loves watching Artest celebrate like he just won the series in the middle of Game 1. Keep it up big guy.

9. Perhaps the defining moment of Game 1, Kevin Garnett missed a should-have-been-dunked layup, with 5 minutes and 35 seconds left in the 4th quarter. At the time, the Celtics were down 91 to 78, and in need of a critical jump start. I’m not one to prematurely throw in the towel, but I have to admit, at that moment, I lost hope for Game 1.

To prevent a similar storyline in Game 2, adjustments need to be made on both ends. The Celtics need to infuriate LA defensively, establishing themselves as the more physical team. On offense, the C’s need to move the ball, working for more high percentage shots.

That being said, some of the Lakers’ play was downright lucky. Ron Artest won’t consistently hit 21 foot jump shots. Ray Allen won’t be in foul trouble for entire games, and it seems unlikely that Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant are capable of continuously shutting down Rajon Rondo.

One thing is for sure, Doc Rivers will not allow the Celtics to be continually outworked on the defensive end.

Hopefully, the heroes will prevail in Game 2.

Editor’s note: Introducing Nick Williamson as Celtics Town’s newest writer. Enjoy his work.

Legends.

After the Los Angeles Lakers finally eclipsed the Suns in game 6,  Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles asked Kobe Bryant to comment on the upcoming installment of the historic Celtics-Lakers rivalry. Kobe’s response, “I’m playing in it. I don’t give a damn about it. That’s for other people to get excited it about. I get excited about winning.”

When taken at face value, Bryant’s comment seems downright moronic–as if, at the exact moment he was responding, Ron Artest’s mind was telepathically controlling Kobe’s mouth. Such an occurrence would require considerable brain power and seems highly unlikely, as Artest is obviously illiterate. I mean c’mon, you saw his Tweets about Phil Jackson during the Utah series.

If you didn’t, or just want to laugh your ass off again:

“Finally Phil Jackson didn’t mention me in media before talking me Now I can build on game 2. Hopefully he talks to me before media.”

“Ever since phil mention things about me in media before coming to me first I was weird. So every pray he can somehow close his yapper and now say AMEN.”

Really, dude? Do you want us to buy you hooked on phonics? No wonder Phil Jackson gets so fed up with Artest’s crap. You have Coach Jackson, a prolific reader and published author, attempting to communicate with a man who can barely understand the scoreboard. Aw, now I understand why Artest hoisted that three when could have run out the clock. He can’t read good.

Assuming that Jedi-mind tricks weren’t at work, we can only conclude that Kobe is making a concerted effort to downplay the influence of Celtics-Lakers history. Despite his best efforts to project otherwise, there is no doubt that Kobe Bryant wants nothing more than to play and beat the Celtics in the finals.

As Markazi points out,

If you grew up as a Boston Red Sox fan, you dreamed of hitting the walk-off home run to beat the New York Yankees. If you grew up as a Washington Redskins fan, you dreamed of scoring the winning touchdown to beat the Dallas Cowboys. And if you grew up as a Lakers fan, as Bryant did, you dreamed of hitting the game-winning shot to beat the Celtics. (or Visa Versa)

Downplaying the importance of Celtics-Lakers is like calling Marilyn Monroe ugly. You’re talking about a magnificent duel between two fundamentally different teams, cities….coasts. Every player involved in this years Finals carries the weight of the wars waged by previous generations of superstars. For Kobe Bryant, this series is about his legacy as an all-time Laker great; the ring that would tie him with Magic Johnson.

For the Celtics, nothing would be sweeter than tarnishing that legacy.

Doc Rivers is well aware of the historical significance of this rivalry. He didn’t mince words during a WEEI interview on the Dennis and Callahan show.

I know the history. I love the history of the game. To be part of it is huge for me, personally. But you feel a responsibility. You don’t want them to beat you. And that’s just the bottom line. Let’s say you were playing Phoenix. You still would want to win the world championship, obviously. But you’re playing the Lakers, and it’s like you’re thinking more about you want to beat them and less about wanting to win the title. And that’s probably good.

Being that the C’s are such a cohesive unit, it’s safe to assume that Doc’s sentiment trickles down through the line up. Pierce, KG and the rest of the squad are well aware of the tradition ingrained in Celtic green.

As for Boston fans, there is no doubt that this rivalry resurrects the passions of past match-ups, as the triumvirate of Bird, McHale and Parish gives way to Pierce, Garnett and Allen.

Oh yeah, Rondo is pretty good too.

As I sit here, watching the Red Sox play the Athletics, a night before the NBA Finals even begin, audible cheers of “Beat LA” reign out over Fenway Park.

Let the show begin.