In the Garden lurks the inevitable

KG, KJ; Kobe, from mediocre to great

Don't know which is worse, watching the Celtics come so close to finishing off the Lakers or listening (forced to listen, more like it) to the encyclopedic babbler Quinito Henson and carabao-English proponent Chino Trinidad doing their best to make it interesting watching an NBA game, trying to convince those with access to cable TV that they are better off tuning in to Crime/Suspense/RPN 9’s coverage instead of at Basketball TV.

Stil (i.e. steal) by Kobi Bryant…Kobi. Kobi. KOBI MIKS A TREEEEE!!!!

It’s not funny anymore listening to Trinidad mangle the Queen’s English, the King’s English, and Tayshaun Prince’s English in two hours it regularly takes an NBA game to run its course.

HISTORY AGAIN. There they went again, repeating themselves.
The Lakers went on to leave the Celtics behind in their first-quarter dust, 39-22, and, as if on cue, the Celtics pursued them with road detritus in their mouths, to come closer, 52-55, at the end of the first half.

Kevin Garnett, as aggressive (read: passionate) as ever, committed his third (unearned) foul on Pau Gasol, a mere 13 seconds after relieving P.J. Brown, who himself committed his third foul earlier. Brown was exemplary, in his first-half stint, putting up not much on the stats sheet with just four points and three rebounds, but his defense helped the Celtics get back. Without the hulking Kendrick Perkins, out on a shoulder injury, Brown filled the lanes well.

Smiling, the 15-year-veteran Brown came back to give Garnett another unnecessary breather. Sure, Garnett didn’t really commit a foul, slapping his hand on the hand of Gasol holding the ball. According to NBA rules, the hand holding the ball, being part of the ball, if it is hit, no call is to be called. But we all know how the rules don’t always work, or how the referees don’t always see or choose not to see.

“One bucket at a time,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers exhorted his players in a timeout. Indeed, as the Celtics racked up 15 straight points to the Lakers' zero for a stretch, it seemed the Celtics were well on their way to ending the series at the Staples Center, thousands of miles away from the TD Banknorth Garden.

In the minds of many fans, both pro-Boston and pro-Lakers, the Lakers were too spent on excessive expectations and unexpected defeats to put up a fight in Game 5. Entering Staples Center locker room, the cameras zoomed in on Paul Pierce and Perkins, in dark suits and darker glasses, looking like they were on their way instead to audition for Men In Black 3 at a Columbia Pictures soundstage. Call it confidence, or call it conceit, but surely, many Celtics must have already felt some of the euphoria of grabbing the Larry O’Brien trophy Sunday night. Overconfidence is never a good thing.

GREEN GRIT. But Boston did play with a lot grit and confidence yesterday. After they were only four points down, 86-90, after James Posey’s three, time down to 5:48 in the fourth, you could almost feel the cold go up the collective spine of the Staples Center crowd, and cold sweat start to pour from Jack Nicholson’s bald spot to his shades.

They call it the Boston run. Garnett’s 14-foot jumper tied the game, 90-90. Shine the trophy, boys! But it wasn’t to be. Pau Gasol’s baby hook regained the lead for the Lakers, which they kept until the final buzzer, 103-98.

A lot of drama went down from 90-all to 103-98, and Bryant contributed to it. He will undoubtedly be acclaimed as one of the greatest players in the NBA, right up there in the basketball firmament with Bill Russell, Jerry West, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and…drum roll…Michael Jordan.

With less than a minute left in the final quarter, Bryant showed his greatness and his weakness. He attempted a three at 1:15 when they didn’t need it, causing Lamar Odom to foul Pierce, who went to the stripe but made only one of two shots. Bryant could have used his one-on-one superiority to slash to the paint and make a two or get fouled to earn two free throws. Instead, he missed his jumper, the Celtics got the rebound, Pierce’s 1-of-2 cut LA’s lead to just three, 97-94.

Then Bryant redeemed himself. Pierce had ball possession, Bryant sneaked from behind to tap the ball to Odom, who in turn passed it to Bryant for a fastbreak dunk, 99-95. In a span of 38 seconds, the Lakers superstar showed two sides of his basketball personality: middling and great.

The Game 5 win wasn’t as ugly as the Lakers’ Game 3 victory, but they did live to play another day. Boston, on the other hand, was just a bit too predictable: Let the Lakers take the early lead, let’s do catch-up. Catsup on meat patty tastes good, but patty alone tastes good, too, our neighborhood burger-store owner always says.

When Doc Rivers sat down Garnett for Rondo with nine seconds left, all Celtics on court were guards/forwards, all capable of shooting threes. And for that reason, they should have taken care of the ball much better, not having James Posey casually pass the inbound to a waiting Derek Fisher who dribbled the precious seconds away to secure the win for his team.

Bryant was waving to the crowd, clapping his hands, while the sidecourt lady was waiting to interview him. Odom was being interviewed by another person himself a few feet away, while their teammates walked past them not looking like they had just won. The Lakers had the look of the defeated (which, in many ways they still are), or the defeated who are merely suspending the inevitable.

Like this very game that they had numerically won by five points. It was a scrambling triumph at best, forging a Game 6 back in…wait, don’t let Los Angeles hear it…Boston, where the Celtics are 2-0 against the Lakers in this series. It is now, 3-2, for the Celtics. Just one more game. Just one more win. The Celtics have two chances to end it. And it will be another championship banner hanging from the rafters.

Yes, home is indeed sweet, especially if you are primed to let the balloons, confetti, and buntings fall in celebration.

This is it. Game 6. The buck stops here.

FFA myNOTES:
If there were any Cebuano-speaking members of the audience at the SC in Game 5, they would have sported knowing smiles listening to the “LO LO LO…” chant of the nervous crowd.