CELTICS
Ray Allen is never going to be accused of being a lock-down defender. But he's not exactly the porous product many were expecting when the Celtics traded for him last summer.
And now he's being entrusted with a key role in keeping Kobe Bryant from going off.
"Well, in past years I never thought of Ray as a great defender," said Paul Pierce, whose own defense has gotten better reviews this year. "But when you look at the top scorers in the league, you never think of any of (them) as great defenders because they're so great offensively. And I think that's been the case with Ray.
"I think since being here he's showed he's been more than a capable defender due to some of the assignments that he's had. He knows in order for us to win we have to play defense, and he's drawn the challenge of guarding Kobe. He's drawn the challenge of guarding Joe Johnson, and he's stepped up that part of his play. Regardless of what he's done on the offensive end, he's come to play this year defensively."
It's clear the Celtics have, too, an attitude that begins with Kevin Garnett and spreads.
"I think defensively from my perspective it's been somewhat of a team ideal," Allen said. "I've always been a pretty good team defender. The schemes that we use, the schemes that I've used my whole career, if you have one weak link, you all know the team defense is going to suffer throughout any games, throughout any season.
"I think here we have five guys at any time on the floor that are accountable, so it makes the job somewhat easier. You don't just point the finger and say it's on you. It's on all of us. One person makes a mistake, you don't compound it. We all key into each other. Even some of the teams that I've been successful on, it's the same thing. You don't look at any great individual defenders; you look at guys that really cover for each other, don't make excuses and go out there and work as hard as you can on the defensive end."
LAKERS 87, CELTICS 81: Paul Pierce hit just 2 of 14 shots on the way to six points. Kevin Garnett made only 6 of 21 shots and struggled to 13 points.
That pretty much assured the Celtics would lose Game 3 of the NBA Finals to the Lakers on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, but the Celts were still happy with their 2-1 series lead.
Not to mention the fact they were still within just two points with two minutes left in the game.
"I just thought they were more aggressive," said coach Doc Rivers. "I thought they ran more.
"I liked our position the whole game. I thought we moved the ball extremely well. Then I thought we got away from that a little bit."
The Celts also got away from their defense on Kobe Bryant, who made 12 of 20 shots on the way to 36 points.
It also helped the Lakers that they turned around the free throw disparity, taking 34 to Boston's 22.
NOTES, QUOTES
—NBA head coaching jobs keep getting filled, and while Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau has been getting his name mentioned in media reports, he has yet to be spoken to by a team.
"Tom has been around this game for so long," head coach Doc Rivers said. "I just don't get the ... I can understand when you hire someone else, that's fine. I just don't get the no-interview part of it. It is what it is.
"It's not what I'm thinking about right now, if you want me to be honest," Rivers said before Game 3. "And neither is he, to his credit."
—Kareem Abdul-Jabbar developed some strong negative feelings about the Celtics during his days with Milwaukee and the Lakers. But it wasn't always so.
During his youth, when he was known as Lew Alcindor, he became friendly with many of the old Celts.
"When my high school coach felt I had to learn something, he made me go to the (Madison Square) Garden, and that was an education in itself," said Kareem, now a special assistant coaching the Lakers' big men. "I met Red (Auerbach) when I was in the ninth grade. Those guys were always taking me under their wing.
"I met them all back then — (Tommy) Heinsohn, (John) Havlicek, Bob Cousy, Sam Jones and Willie Naulls after he was traded there. They used to play doubleheaders at the Garden."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I'm just surprised he didn't whine about fouls tonight." — Doc Rivers, taking a swipe at Lakers coach Phil Jackson.
ROSTER REPORT
ROTATION: Starters — Point guard Rajon Rondo; Shooting guard Ray Allen; Small forward Paul Pierce; Power forward Kevin Garnett; Center Kendrick Perkins. Bench — Guard Eddie House, Forward James Posey, Guard Sam Cassell, Forward Leon Powe, Forward Glen Davis, Forward-Center P.J. Brown, Guard Tony Allen. Inactive: Guard Gabe Pruitt, Center Scot Pollard, Guard Tony Allen.
PLAYER NOTES:
—G Rajon Rondo sprained his left ankle and played just 22 minutes.
—G Ray Allen continued to distance himself from his shooting slump. He made 5 of 7 treys in Game 3.
—G Eddie House dusted himself off and had six points in 20 minutes.
—F Leon Powe went from 21 points in Game 2 to one on Tuesday.
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