Tonight is the night I break the Mystique and Aura in game post curse.  The teams we are rooting for are now 0-4, and if I hadn’t lost power for Game 2, the Celtics could have been looking at a huge hole right now.  It all ends tonight.  Follow along as the Celtics find a way to win.  The rumor around Boston is that Ray Allen and Paul Pierce’s plane back from L.A. has finally landed, just in time for Game 4.  We are still unsure however, if their taxi will get them to the Garden in time.  Check out the in-game posts for Game 1 and Game 3.

Pregame Observations: The Celtics need 2 of the Big 3 to play well as well as get a solid game from Rondo.  Kendrick Perkins has been a shell of himself, seemingly afraid of picking up a T and getting suspended.  He needs to get aggressive or he’s useless anyway.  Tony Allen needs to continue to play Kobe tough on D and just get the hell out of the way on offense.

For the Lakers, getting a better game out of Kobe will be big, as he struggled in Game 3 as Derek Fisher carried the Lakers to victory.  If Andrew Bynum can’t play, Lamar Odom will need to have a huge game, as Bynum has been a beast inside this series, especially at the defensive end.  Ron Artest needs to not do something completely crazy, only his normal crazy.*The Celtics and Lakers are treating the National Anthem’s like it’s the preseason.  Seriously, where are the big stars for this series?  It’s Celtics-Lakers in the NBA Finals, and this is what we get?  No NKOTB?

*So Bynum is starting, it will be interesting to see how his knee holds up throughout the game.

*I think Ron Artest should guest star on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  He’s got a little (or a lot) of Charlie in him.  Seriously, can’t you see him pulling the “Wild Card bitches!!!” line?

*Lots of speculation on whether this will be Doc’s last year with the Celtics.  Bill Simmons swears Kevin McHale will become the coach if Doc leaves, which he thinks will happen.  Not sure how I feel about this.  I think McHale is a good coach, but Doc has made huge strides in the last few years and is loved by his players, without being soft on them.  Losing Tom Thibodeau could be huge, as Doc is a great communicator and leader, but Thibodeau is a great X’s and O’s guy on the defensive end.

*Is Mark Jackson still interested in coaching, or is he going to stick to TV for now?  Part of what makes this ESPN team great is that Van Gundy is a great NBA coach, and Jackson has the makings of one.  To contrast, there is no baseball team in their right mind that would hire Joe Morgan or John Kruk for an important job.

1st Quarter

*That looks like Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.  I hope it’s really them.

*Why do they start ever game with this terrible camera angle?  If it was any good, they’d use it all of the time, right?  Enough already.

*Need Pierce going to the hole.  He’s at his best when he’s getting to the line 8-12 times a game.  Here’s his first 2.

*I bet Pete Carroll is pretty pumped and jacked he’s out of USC now huh?

*It’s a layup for Ray Allen, and yet it’s huuuuge.  2-2

*The more Ron Artest has the ball on offense, the better it is for the Celtics.

*Pierce and Allen with the first 5 for the Celtics.  Last game they were scoreless after one.  5-2 Celtics.

*Crowd in it early, hopefully the Celtics can keep them in it.

*Ray Ray misses his 1st 3.  When he hits one, the roof will blow off the Garden.

*Isolating Kendrick Perkins is not our offense.  Don’t do it.

*Pierce with 2 more.  Good to see.  7-6 Celtics.

*Pierce again.  I’m sure he took a lot of the criticism to heart.  Could be in for a huge game.

*There’s no way Pau Gasol wears deodorant right?  Or even showers?  He looks smellier than Dino Radja.

*Celtics playing pretty well but missing bunnies.  Lakers hitting some tough shots.  12-11 Lakers.

*Bad pass by Odom there but KG bailed him out with a foul.  Not a good one.

*It’s official: Paul Pierce is in the building.  Still awaiting Ray Allen.

*Big Baby checking in.  He’s really brought some energy when he has come in this series.  14-12 Lakers.

*Through almost 3 1/4 games, I don’t think the Celtics have collected one loose ball yet.  Frustrating.

*The refs have played way too big of a role in this series.  There just hasn’t been a flow to the games as the whistle is always blowing.  By the way, how come the NBA announces the officials the morning of the games, and doesn’t give any reason (like merit based) for who gets the call?  They couldn’t be any less transparent about how they assign their refs based on who they’d like to win.  They don’t tell the refs that, but they know who calls what, and where.  Tim Donaghy didn’t scare David Stern one bit.  Strange.  Not nearly as big a story as that should have been.

*Low scoring game so far.  Not sure who this favors, but it’s ugly.

*Eddie F. Rush deserved that.  He’s terrible.  Not that he has been yet, but he will be.  That’s his MO.

*Good to see Nate Rob getting in early and giving Rondo a breather.

*Nice hard foul by Sheed.  I don’t know how many times the Celtics foul, but not hard enough to keep the guy from getting the And 1.  Sheed did it right that time.

*Sheed’s new stache/beard/goatee thing remains terrible.

*Great, Sheed is in foul trouble on an absolute phantom call.  That’s ridiculous.

*In the surprise of the night, it wasn’t Eddie F. Rush who just made that terrible call.

*Nate Rob for 3!  19-16 Celtics.

At the end of 1 it’s 19-16 Celtics.  Paul Pierce is ready to play, but the Celtics have missed a ton of layups.  Ray Allen’s shot remains lost, but the Celtics have for the most part avoided the early foul trouble that has plagued them this series.  Kobe is looking bad.  The Allen’s do a very good job defending him, and he’s gotten caught in the air a few times only to make a last second pass, just avoiding turnovers.  Celtics have to be happy with how they played, but disappointed in just a 3 point lead.

2nd Quarter

*Phil Jackson absolutely detests the in-game interviews.  I don’t blame him.

*Wow, what a tip-in by Big Baby.  21-19 Celtics.

*This is good Nate Rob tonight, he needs 15 minutes.

*Celtics are playing very well with just one starter (Pierce) on the floor.

*Getting strong contributions already from Nate Rob and Baby off the bench.  If these guys can give solid minutes and keep the starters fresh for the 4th quarter, the Celtics will be in good shape.

*Wow.  Big fall away shot there from Shannon Brown with TA draped all over him.  27-26 Celtics.

*Big Baby running the fast break is a scary sight, for both teams.  Nate Rob did a good job of drawing, and selling that foul.

*Tough shot there for the Candy Man.  Lakers 28-27

*Even if it feels like Chinese water torture, they need to continue to find shots for Ray.

*Big Baby has been the Celtics 2nd best player tonight.  That’s both good and bad.

*I know Phil Jackson is a great coach, but his timeout and halftime speeches don’t exactly make anyone want to run thru walls for him.

*Another missed layup.  Wow.

*Missed shots are taking the crowd right out of this game.

*Oh shit, Kobe is heating up. 37-33 Lakers.

*Might be time to bring Tony Allen back in.  I don’t want to go away from Ray Allen altogether as clearly they need offense, but TA frustrates Kobe, and you don’t want Kobe to catch “NBA Jam” style fire.

*Are those Perk’s first two rebounds of the series?  Good to see him, at least a little bit, showing up on the glass.

*Dr. J and Kareem sitting together.  In the 80′s they wouldn’t have been treated to well sitting in the Garden.

*Just saw a shot of Clifford Ray on the Celtics bench.  If you haven’t heard the story of him saving a dolphin, go ahead and google it.  Pretty interesting.

*KG with the 3 point play, 43-38 Lakers.

*Kobe’s been playing with Gasol too long after watching that dive.  Must be the eve of the World Cup that spurred Kobe to act like a soccer player.

*Rondo with the steal and lay-in, 43-40 Celtics.

*Wow.  What a huge turnaround shot their by KG to end the half.  I don’t even think he knew where he was when he turned to shoot.  Too bad that wasn’t just the end of a shot clock shot, as that would have gotten the crowd going.

At the half it’s 45-42 Lakers.  The story of the half is the Celtics inability to make easy buckets.  They should have at 5-10 point lead just on missed layups alone.  Paul Pierce had it going early and Big Baby played well off the bench.  Ray Allen continues to struggle.  Kobe has attempted just 8 shots, making 5.  Pau Gasol has been to the line 8 times, everyone else in the game combined has been 10 times.  It’s nice to have Rasheed Wallace, who all refs hate, covering you.  A few of those calls to put Gasol on the line were terrible, as was the offensive foul on Pierce where Kobe just fell down.  If the Celtics repeat the first half but simply make layups, they should win the game.

*Mike Wilbon says the Celtics are lucky to be down only 3?  Really? They missed 823 layups. It should be the other way around, the Lakers are lucky to have a 3 point lead.

*Where the hell does Lebron end up?  I seriously couldn’t guess one way or another, but if I’m him I leave Cleveland.  They are in cap trouble and have no one around him right now.  I’d do my best to go somewhere with Bosh and light shit up.  Chicago would be great, but I’m not sure how well he and Rose would play together.

*Pretty interesting that the Lakers have been in a whopping 31 Finals, the Celtics *just* 21.

3rd Quarter

*Two good shots to open the quarter for the Celtics.  Two misses.  Shocking.

*Ray Ray to the line, hopefully this can get his shot going.  Lakers still respecting his outside shot though, it might only take one 3 to get him going.  Lakers 45-44.

*Walk away Perk.  Walk away.

*More missed layups, finally tipped in by Perk.  49-46 Lakers.

*Nice pull-up jumper for Rondo there.

*Chance to take the lead…………….and Pierce throws the ball away.  Damn.  49-48 Lakers.

*Horrible 3 second call there, Van Gundy nailed it.

*Wow.  The replay of that 3 second call is stunning.  Not even close, especially for something they rarely call.  Where is Tim Donaghy?

*Time to get Pierce back going to the hole.  That was working.  Why did we stop?

*Accidental offense?  We’ll take it.

*Great long pass by Rondo, layed in by KG!  53-52 Lakers.

*Celtics hitting the boards, draw the foul and have a chance to take a lead.  I want Allen for 3.

*Looks like the Celtics wanted Allen for 3 as well.

*Vujabitch is in, time to abuse him.

*KG gives the Celtics the lead, 54-53 Celtics.

*Kobe answers with a 3, 56-54 Lakers.

*Ray Ray with……..a jump shot!!!! 56-56.

*Still waiting for a Ray Ray 3.  When he was slumping (big time) in the playoffs a few years ago, you could hear and feel the energy every time Ray went for a 3.  When he finally started hitting them, the place would erupt.  That’s coming again soon, I hope.

*How bad, or good, is the A-Team movie going to be?  I loved the TV show so I want to see it, but have low expectations.

*The Walton commercials were awesome.  The Barry commercials suck.  You know why?  Because the Waltons are a bunch of great dudes.  The Barry’s are douches.

*The Celtics have forced Kobe into a ton of bad passes tonight.  Guess he’s just not used to passing.  It seems like a foreign concept to him.

*Wow, two more good looks.  Two more misses.  Ugh.  Time to get the ball to Pierce.

*Kobe with the tough 3 to get the lead back.  59-58 Lakers.

*Kobe with another 3, 62-58 Lakers.  Tony Allen time.

*3 second violation on the Lakers draws a mock cheer from the fans.  Still can’t believe how bad that call was on KG.

At the end of three quarters it’s 62-60 Lakers.  Celtics cut the lead by a point and continue to miss easy shots.  A few tough 3′s from Kobe kept the Lakers in front.  In breaking news, Ray Allen hit a jump shot.  If he hits a 3 in the 4th quarter, the Celtics win.  If he doesn’t…….they still win.

4th Quarter

*I love the energy that Big Baby and Nate Rob bring to the court.  Baby is having a great game, 11 points in 13 minutes.

*Ray with the nice reverse layup.  Still not that 3 that we are all waiting for, but it’s coming.  I swear. 64-64.

*Big Baby for two more!  66-64.

*”Bryant wanted a foul.  And he gets it.”  Nice to know who’s calling this game.

*Tony Allen is all up in Kobe’s shit.  Tony Allen is quite the enigma.

*Great job by Ray to fight for that board, that would have deflated the team and crowd to play defense that well and give up the offensive board.

*Ray with another jump shot!  68-64 Celtics.

*Big Baby is the fucking man.  No other way to put it.  Hoop and the harm. 70-64 Celtics with the FT coming up.

*The backups continue to get it done.  TA with the And 1. 74-66 Celtics.

*Bad T by Sheed.  Don’t lose this momentum. Good thing Kobe missed.

*Sheed has 5 official fouls.  How many are legit.  2 or 3?

*That 3 for Ray is coming.  I feel it.

*How is that a foul?  Seriously?

*Nice shot by Odom.  76-70 Celtics.

*Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed.  79-70 Celtics.

*The good and bad of Nate Rob right there.

*This “Salt” movie looks terrible.

*Those two bad T’s hurt a little less when the Lakers miss the freebies.

*Come on Nate, keep your head in the game.

*Two free throws by Robinson.  81-72 Celtics.

*This is the 2nd straight 4th quarter where Kobe is almost invisible.  Fisher took over for them the other night, now it’s Odom.  I thought Kobe was the best player in the world.

*I loved Eddie House, but he has not once created his own shot.  Nate Rob, when on, is miles ahead of House as a scorer.  Loved that trade at the time, love it even more now.

*Big Baby leading the Celtics in scoring.  Wow.  When you consider Pierce had 10 in the 1st quarter, it’s even more amazing.

*No, no, no, no.  That’s Tony Allen the enigma.  Terrible shot selection there.  Uncalled for.  Makes a great play, then a
completely boneheaded play all within 20 seconds.  Damn.

*21 points for the bench in a game is solid.  21 in the 4th quarter?  Nuts.

*Come on game sealing 3.

*Solid shot by Pierce there.  Burnt a lot of time off the clock, got a good shot and nailed it.  87-79 Celtics.

*Kobe’s first FG of the 4th, with 2 minutes left.

*Phewwwww.

*Kobe was outside the circle, but moving.  Good call there, though surprising.  Van Gundy disagrees.  And1 for Pierce.  90-81 Celtics.

*I wish I was there, I’d love to try and start a “Where is Kobe?” chant.

*RONDO!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Steal and seal?  92-86 Celtics.

*Use clock, but get a good shot.  Not a great shot.

*Good job by KG not getting the ball to Rondo.  Need to get it to a good shooter here.

*KG hits the first, absolutely needed at least 1 there.  Gets the 2nd.  94-86 Celtics.  Just about done here.

*Rondo is such a little brother.  Look at KG putting his finger in his face there, picking on him.  Ha.

It’s a final in Boston, 96-89 Celtics.  Big Baby, in just 22 minutes managed to score 18 points, just behind Paul Pierce who padded his total down the stretch with free throws and ended up with 19.  The bench, between Davis and Nate Robinson won this game for the Celtics.  After a great 1st quarter, Paul Pierce disappeared and Ray Allen continued to struggle.  Rondo didn’t play well either, which led to extended minutes for Nate Robinson down the stretch, who delivered.  The Celtics pounded the boards as no one had more than 7, but 6 guys had at least 5.  Tony Allen played great defense.  And horrible offense.  The series is all tied up 2-2, with Game 5 Sunday in Boston.  You have to like the winner of game 5 to win it all.  Either the Lakers take a 3-2 going back home, or the Celtics take a 3-2 into LA and need to just win one of two, where they have already proven they can win.  The Celtics bench could be the turning point in his series, as they played much better than the Lakers, and appear to be much deeper.