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2010 NBA Finals

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2010 finals
File:2010 NBA Finals.gif
TeamCoachWins
{{{champion}}} {{{champion_coach}}} {{{champion_games}}}
{{{runnerup}}} {{{runnerup_coach}}} {{{runnerup_games}}}
DatesJune 3 – TBD
MVPTBD
Hall of FamersCoaches:
Phil Jackson (2007)
Eastern finalsCeltics defeated Magic, 4–2
Western finalsLakers defeated Suns, 4–2
{{{league}}} finals

The 2010 NBA Finals are the championship series of the 2009–10 NBA season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The champions of the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics, are facing the champions of the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers.

The NBA Finals are under a 2–3–2 rotation, with the Lakers holding home-court advantage as they have a better regular season record than the Celtics. This is the 12th time the teams have met in the championship round; the Celtics won nine of their previous eleven Finals meetings against the Lakers, winning in 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1984, and 2008, while the Lakers won in 1985 and 1987. The Celtics currently hold the most NBA Championships, 17, but the Lakers trail closely with 15.

This is the third straight year the L.A. Lakers are making the NBA Finals. These two teams last met in 2008, when the Celtics beat the Lakers 4–2. Paul Pierce was named series MVP. Much of both rosters have been kept intact, and the Celtics' veterans Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Rasheed Wallace look to add to their résumé of championships while Kobe Bryant and his Lakers look for revenge on this Celtics team. The Los Angeles Lakers are the current defending champions, having beaten the Orlando Magic 4–1 in the 2009 NBA Finals.

Background

2010 NBA Playoffs

Main article: 2010 NBA Playoffs
Los Angeles Lakers (Western Conference Champion) Boston Celtics (Eastern Conference Champion)
57–25 (.695)
1st Pacific, 1st West, 3rd Overall 		Regular season 50–32 (.610)
1st Atlantic, 4th East, Tied-9th Overall
Defeated the (8) Oklahoma City Thunder, 4–2 First Round Defeated the (5) Miami Heat, 4–1
Defeated the (5) Utah Jazz, 4–0 Conference Semifinals Defeated the (1) Cleveland Cavaliers, 4–2
Defeated the (3) Phoenix Suns, 4–2 Conference Finals Defeated the (2) Orlando Magic, 4–2

Regular-season series

The regular season series was split, with each team winning on the opponent's court by only a point:

Boston Celtics

Main article: 2009–10 Boston Celtics season

The Boston Celtics finished the regular season as the Atlantic Division champions with a 50–32 record. As the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics eliminated the #5 seeded Miami Heat in five games during the first round in the playoffs. Then in the conference semifinals, Boston defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games, the earliest that a top seed as been eliminated since the Dallas Mavericks' first round loss to the Golden State Warriors in 2007. In the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics went on to eliminate the Orlando Magic in six games. In reaching the Finals the Boston Celtics became the first team in NBA history to do so with a better regular season road record than home. Also, the Boston Celtics became the second team in NBA history to reach the NBA Finals after beating the team with the best record, Cleveland Cavaliers, and team with second-best record in the league, Orlando Magic, after the Houston Rockets did it in 1995. The Celtics were overshadowed by the #1 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and #2 seeded Orlando Magic who were both favorites to win it all, but they proved resilient in defeating both to secure their 21st finals appearance.

Los Angeles Lakers

Main article: 2009–10 Los Angeles Lakers season

The Los Angeles Lakers finished the regular season as the Pacific Division champion with a 57–25 record. As the #1 seed in the Western Conference, the Lakers eliminated the #8 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in six games in the first round, with the finale game 6 ending when Kobe Bryant missed a jumper but Pau Gasol grabbed the offensive rebound and made a layup to clinch the win. Then in the conference semifinals, Los Angeles became the first team in NBA history to sweep the Utah Jazz thus placing them in their third straight Western Conference Final. In the Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers won both of their first two games at home, but proceeded to lose the next two in Phoenix both by 9 points. In game 5, Ron Artest made an off balance layup to beat the buzzer off a Kobe Bryant miss to give the Lakers the victory. The Lakers then proceeded to beat the Suns on their home floor in game 6 led by Kobe Bryant's 37 points. Game 6 clinched the Lakers their third straight appearance in the NBA Finals, the last team to do so being the Los Angeles Lakers themselves (2000–2002). This is the Los Angeles Lakers' 31st NBA Finals appearance.

Game summaries

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).
Games to be played if necessary are indicated by asterisks (*).

Game 1

June 3
9:00 p.m. ET
Boston Celtics 89, Los Angeles Lakers 102
Scoring by quarter: 21–26, 20–24, 23–34, 25–18
Pts: Paul Pierce 24
Rebs: Paul Pierce 9
Asts: Rajon Rondo 8		 Pts: Kobe Bryant 30
Rebs: Pau Gasol 14
Asts: Kobe Bryant 6
L.A. Lakers lead series, 1–0

Both the Celtics and the Lakers came into Game 1 strong, keeping it close for most of the 1st quarter until a 7-2 run inspired by bench players Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown made it a 5-point Lakers lead after the 1st. Boston would not be silenced though as they kept fighting as managed to cut the lead to 2 (35-37) but that would be as close as they would get as the Lakers ended the first half on another run this time fueled by Ron Artest and Pau Gasol to make it 50-41 at the half. Much of the same came in the 3rd quarter as Los Angeles would not let up on either end of the floor, matching nearly everyone of Boston's attempts to get back in the game. And to continue the trend set in the past 2 quarters the Lakers went on a 15-4 run in the last 4 minutes led by lockdown defense and offensive execution leading a 20-point lead for LA going to the 4th. While the Celtics would try to get back into the game with Nate Robinson and 2008 Finals MVP Paul Pierce, they would never get closer than 11 points. The game was capped off with a Kobe Bryant three-pointer with 3.6 seconds left securing Bryant his 10th 30-point game in his last 11. Boston ended up being outplayed in nearly every statistical category, mainly the rebounding (31-42) and second chance points (0-16). Much of the Celtic's performance was placed on Kevin Garnett who finished with 16 points (on 16 shots) and 2 rebounds. Ray Allen was also affected by foul trouble, finishing with 12 points and 5 personal fouls.

Game 2

June 6
8:00 p.m. ET
Boston Celtics 103, Los Angeles Lakers 94
Scoring by quarter: 29–22, 25–26, 18–24, 31–22
Pts: Ray Allen 32
Rebs: Rajon Rondo 12
Asts: Rajon Rondo 10		 Pts: Pau Gasol 25
Rebs: Pau Gasol 8
Asts: Kobe Bryant 6
Series tied, 1–1

The Celtics came out much more aggressively in Game 2, beginning with a Kevin Garnett jump-shot for Boston's first 2 points. The Lakers would not be easily vanquished though, and led by Pau Gasol, who had 9 points in the quarter, managed to produce a reachable 7-point game after 1. Ray Allen, however, seemed to have to have other things on his mind. In the second quarter, Allen hit 5 three-pointers (while only missing once) to add to the 2 three's he hit in the first quarter. This explosive offensive output pushed the Celtics forward and allowed them to lead by as many as 14. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers never gave up though, and with a quick 7–0 run made it just a 54–48 Boston lead at halftime. Foul trouble plagued many players of both squads as both teams had multiple players with 3 fouls going into the break. The Lakers would continue their onslaught on the Celtics and managed to take the lead early (57–56). Both teams fought hard in the 3rd quarter, leading to the 72–72 tie going into the 4th. The fourth quarter was nearly all Celtics though as Rajon Rondo had 10 points in the quarter to put Boston over the hump and tie the series 1-1. Rondo finished with an impressive triple-double of 19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists and Allen hit 8 of 11 three-pointers to take the NBA Finals Record. Gasol finished strong again with 8 rebounds and 25 points on only 10 shots (0 in the 4th quarter) while Bryant ended on 8/20 shooting.

Game 3

June 8
9:00 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Lakers 91, Boston Celtics 84
Scoring by quarter: 26–17, 26–23, 15–21, 24–23
Pts: Kobe Bryant 29
Rebs: Bynum, Gasol 10 each
Asts: Bryant, Gasol 4 each		 Pts: Kevin Garnett 25
Rebs: Kendrick Perkins 11
Asts: Rajon Rondo 8
L.A. Lakers lead series, 2–1

Boston made a strong run in the first 4 minutes of the game including three field goals in a row from Kevin Garnett and led by as many as seven points (12–5) in the first quarter. Following a Los Angeles timeout, the Lakers resurged with a massive 32–8 run to take early control of the game and never lost the lead the whole game through. Leading 37–20 at the 15th minute of play. The Celtics would not be silenced, however. With a promising 3rd quarter they cut the twelve-point half-time lead to six halfway through the 4th quarter. Boston then made several unsuccessful attempts to retake the game, but were thwarted by the strong play of Derek Fisher—who scored eleven points on 5-of-7 shooting in the final quarter to finish with sixteen. Foul trouble plagued the Celtics’ Paul Pierce, who had 15 points and 5 personal fouls in limited minutes. Ray Allen could not approach his Game 2 performance and scored his only two points on free throws, having shot 0-of-13 from the field. Garnett’s game showed improvement; he finished with 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. The Lakers’ star Kobe Bryant finished with 29 points as his team took a 2–1 series lead.

Game 4

June 10
9:00 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Lakers 89, Boston Celtics 96
Scoring by quarter: 16–19, 29–23, 17–18, 27–36
Pts: Kobe Bryant 33
Rebs: Artest, Odom 7 each
Asts: Artest, Gasol 3 each		 Pts: Paul Pierce 19
Rebs: Kendrick Perkins 7
Asts: Paul Pierce 5
Series tied, 2–2
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 18,624
Referees: Scott Foster, Eddie F. Rush, Greg Willard

Boston came out feeding off their home crowd for the second consecutive game, jumping out to an early 9-6 lead behind inspired play from Paul Pierce, who scored seven of Boston's first nine by getting to the basket with relative ease. However, the Lakers withstood the early mini-run and answered with one of their own when Kobe banked home a jumper to give L.A a 12-11. Both defenses stayed strong from there, and the refs finally swallowed their whistles and let the team s go at it. A Paul Pierce jumper with less than four minutes remaining, knotted the game at 14 with all 14 of the Celtics' points coming from The Big Three before Rajon Rondo ended that stretch with a drive to the bucket to again tie the game, this time at 16 with less than two minutes remaining. The Lakers' offense continued to struggle as Bryant took a breather before the first frame ended, and Nate Robinson closed the quarter with a three pointer at the 3.7 second mark tp give the C's a 19-16 lead at the end of one.

Game 5

Game 6

Game 7 *


Statistics

Category High Average
Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics
Player Total Player Total Player Avg. Player Avg.
Points Kobe Bryant 33 Ray Allen 32 Kobe Bryant 28.3 Paul Pierce 17
Rebounds Pau Gasol 14 Rajon Rondo 12 Pau Gasol 9.5 Kendrick Perkins 6.8
Assists Kobe Bryant 6 Rajon Rondo 10 Kobe Bryant 4.5 Rajon Rondo 7.3
Steals Kobe Bryant 4 Rajon Rondo 3 Kobe Bryant 2.3 Rajon Rondo 1.8
Blocks Andrew Bynum 7 Paul Pierce 2 Pau Gasol 3.3 Paul Pierce
Kevin Garnett		 0.8

Rosters

Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
G/F 37 United States Artest, Ron 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 260 lb (118 kg) St. John's
G 12 United States Brown, Shannon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Michigan State
G/F 24 United States Bryant, Kobe (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Lower Merion HS (PA)
C 17 United States Bynum, Andrew 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 285 lb (129 kg) St. Joseph HS (NJ)
G 1 United States Farmar, Jordan 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) UCLA
G 2 United States Fisher, Derek 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Little Rock
F/C 16 Spain Gasol, Pau 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Spain
C 28 Belgium Ilunga-Mbenga, Didier 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Belgium
F 6 United States Morrison, Adam (IN) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Gonzaga
F 7 United States Odom, Lamar 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Rhode Island
F/C 21 United States Powell, Josh 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) NC State
G 18 Slovenia Vujačić, Sasha 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Slovenia
F 4 United States Walton, Luke 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Arizona
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2009-10-26

Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
G 20 United States Allen, Ray 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Connecticut
G/F 42 United States Allen, Tony 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Oklahoma State
G/F 7 United States Daniels, Marquis (IN) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Auburn
F/C 11 United States Davis, Glen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 289 lb (131 kg) LSU
G/F 40 United States Finley, Michael 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Wisconsin
F/C 27 United States Gaffney, Tony (IN) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) UMass
F 5 United States Garnett, Kevin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 253 lb (115 kg) Farragut
G 0 United States Lafayette, Oliver (IN) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Houston
C 43 United States Perkins, Kendrick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 280 lb (127 kg) CJOHS
G/F 34 United States Pierce, Paul (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Kansas
G 4 United States Robinson, Nate 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Washington
G 9 United States Rondo, Rajon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 171 lb (78 kg) Kentucky
F/C 44 United States Scalabrine, Brian 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) USC
F/C 30 United States Wallace, Rasheed 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) North Carolina
F/C 13 United States Williams, Shelden 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Duke
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2010-04-14

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