Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“Every game so far we’ve had one of our top players in foul trouble,” said the Celtics coach. “Maybe I should start complaining about fouls. Maybe I can get a turnaround like it was turned around tonight. That was amazing.”
Pierce played only 34 minutes, scoring 15 points with five fouls. Rivers, though, already had built a head of steam before the game even started, saying:
“I’m just miffed and amazed about how the other team complained about the fouls, since we’ve been the team that’s been in foul trouble for two games. Maybe they do different math there or something. I don’t get that one.
Herald: Doc Rivers unhappy again with refs calls
Once again the officiating is a story line... ugh.
But Phil Jackson works the refs and he does it in a way that no one else can. And it seems like it works.
So Doc is angry is about something his almost never angry about. And he's letting everyone know about it. If there's a fine involved, so be it.
Doc knows, and he said so last night, that there are million other things that the Celtics could have done to beat LA last night. But he's sick of Phil's game... so he's trying to do something about it while the Celtics have time to recover and win this series.
On Page 2: One of those million other things
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images“[He] won the game for them,” Doc Rivers said. “Derek Fisher was the difference in the game.”
After the Lakers watched Rondo dominate the fourth quarter on Sunday night, Fisher scored 11 points in the final 12 minutes of the Lakers 91-84 victory on Tuesday.
Fisher shot five-for-seven during that stretch, an instant improvement from 5-for-16 shooting in the first two games. His late burst included a 3-point play that put the Lakers up seven with less than a minute to go.
“We let Derek Fisher dribble the ball all the way up the court, unattended, get a 3-point play,” said Rivers. “If you get a stop there, we had two timeouts left, three timeouts at the time, we had plenty of time.”
WEEI: How Fisher 'Won the game for them'
Every series so far, Derek Fisher has been the "weak link" for the Lakers. What no one is calling him is the stabilizing force for the Lakers.
The play of the game, the rebound, lay up, and foul shot with 48 seconds left was a smart play that took advantage of the Celtics getting lazy at a horrible time.
Ray missed a 3, and everyone either got dejected or distracted... because they start jogging.
It starts with Rondo, who was on top of Fisher at the basket, but slowly jogging and 3 steps behind half court as Fisher is driving past KG.
At the same time, Paul Pierce is slowly trotting back without looking at the play. Ray is slowly back pedaling on the other side of the court, and even Baby is half-assing it and pointing over to say "Hey, someone get him."
At the :07 mark, Ray has an "oh shit" moment and he nearly knocks a surprised Pierce over as he tries to get to the hoop. Baby realizes at the same time he's pointing at no one. And KG just can't keep up... and they all bowl Fisher over.
4 point game, 48 seconds left... there's time to bear down, get a stop, and cut the lead to 2 (or 1, but not the way the C's were shooting). It's a critical moment where there were no refs involved. That's just the Celtics slacking off and letting it happen to them.
Kudos to Fisher for making it happen... shame on the Celtics and their "defense" for allowing it.
The rest of the links:
Herald: Home not sweet to the Celtics | KG finally shows up | Ray Allen's game a miss | Vujacic: bench fire | No more predictions: Paul must rebound | Glen Davis, bench, can't back it up | Shelden Williams sits, learns, plays when called | Lakers look only to game 4 | Globe: Home Wreckers | Garnett was just the ticket | Ryan: Best for last | Pierce predicts team will bounce back | Without foul trouble, Odom's a force for LA | Bryant gets the point, praises Harper | Visitors didn't fade | Why this series is going 7 | Rough night for Ray | ESPN Boston: Morning shootaround: Ray, refs, resolve | Postgame Notes: KG Better, not best | WEEI: Big Baby knows refs aren't to blame for everything | 3 things that went right and wrong | In the end, Artest and Lakers were tough enough | CSNNE: Allen goes cold | MWDN: Total turnaround