With Ray Allen’s fundamentally flawless jumper snapping crisply from his wrists, He made seven 3-pointers in the first half and finished with a finals-record eight 3’s in the Celtics’ 103-94 victory last night (Sun., Jun. 6).
While Allen scored 27 of his 32 points in the first half with a record-setting 3-point shooting display, Rondo completed his fifth playoff triple-double down the stretch. Taking charge after Allen cooled down, the point guard racked up 19 points — including the quick-reflex basket that put Boston ahead for good — along with 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
Kobe Bryant scored 21 points while battling more foul trouble for the Lakers, who couldn’t catch up to Boston’s dynamic guards in Los Angeles’ first home playoff loss since last season’s Western Conference finals. Pau Gasol had 25 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers, and Andrew Bynum added 21 points and six rebounds.
Allen had just 12 points on 3-for-8 shooting in the Finals opener, never finding his rhythm after early foul trouble. He didn’t even hit a 3-pointer in Game 1 — but he was just saving it up.
Allen tied the Finals record for a full game with seven 3-pointers in the first half alone. He didn’t even miss until his eighth try rimmed out in the waning moments of the half, stunning both his bench and the fearful Staples Center crowd.
Game 3 is Tuesday night in Boston.
Information from Espn.com and the Associated Press contributed to this report.