The 2008 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2007–08 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. A best-of-seven playoff series that was played from June 5–17, 2008, the series was contested between the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics and the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers. It was the eleventh Finals meeting in the history of the Celtics–Lakers rivalry. The Celtics defeated the Lakers in six games to win their first championship since 1986 and their seventeenth title overall.
Paul Pierce was named the Finals MVP. Rodd Houston narrated the Boston Celtics' championship season documentary on NBA Entertainment. The made-for-TV version of this documentary is narrated by Kevin Harlan.
The Celtics would not win another championship until 2024.
Background
The Celtics made their first NBA Finals appearance since a six-game loss to the Lakers in 1987. Over the next 20 years the Celtics endured lean years, not making the playoffs in nine of those years. Following the dissolution of the team's original "Big Three" through the retirements of Larry Bird and Kevin McHale and the departure of Robert Parish, the Celtics suffered through several tragedies such as the passing of Reggie Lewis in 1993; a franchise-worst 15-win 1996–97 season; the ill-fated hiring of head coach Rick Pitino; and the deaths of franchise patriarch Red Auerbach and former player Dennis Johnson, which culminated in a 24-win 2006–07 season, highlighted by a franchise-worst 18 straight losses.
Nevertheless, the 2007 off-season saw Celtics general manager Danny Ainge acquire Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to join franchise star Paul Pierce. This new formation became regarded as the most talented Boston Celtics team since the duo of Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce in the early 2000s. The newly formed 'Big Three,' joined by second year point guard and future all star Rajon Rondo, led the Celtics to a dramatic 42-game turnaround, finishing with 66 wins.
In the playoffs, the Celtics were pushed to the brink by the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers, and despite not winning on the road, managed to prevail in a pair of Game 7s on their home court. The Celtics would finally break their road woes in a six-game win against the perennial Eastern Conference powerhouse Detroit Pistons, earning their first finals berth since 1987.
After losing to the Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals, despite a talent-laden roster, Phil Jackson abruptly retired. Soon after, the Lakers decided to rebuild by trading away Shaquille O'Neal to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant. The 2004–05 season saw the Lakers miss the playoffs for only the fifth time in team history. Even though he had written a book called The Last Season, going as far as calling Kobe Bryant "uncoachable," Jackson returned to the Lakers for the 2005–06 season. Jackson and Bryant would patch up their differences, but after a pair of first-round exits, Bryant demanded, but later retracted, a trade in the off-season.
The Lakers' 2007–08 season saw the team win 57 games, along the way adding Spanish forward Pau Gasol in mid-season while Andrew Bynum was recovering from a mid-season knee injury. The Lakers eliminated the Denver Nuggets 4–0, then the Utah Jazz 4–2 and then dethroned the erstwhile defending champion San Antonio Spurs 4–1 in the conference finals, making their 29th NBA Finals appearance.
2008 NBA playoffs
Los Angeles Lakers (Western Conference champion) Boston Celtics (Eastern Conference champion)1st seed in the West, 3rd best league recordRegular season1st seed in the East, best league recordDefeated the (8) Denver Nuggets, 4–0First roundDefeated the (8) Atlanta Hawks, 4–3Defeated the (4) Utah Jazz, 4–2Conference semifinalsDefeated the (4) Cleveland Cavaliers, 4–3Defeated the (3) San Antonio Spurs, 4–1Conference finalsDefeated the (2) Detroit Pistons, 4–2
Regular season series The Boston Celtics won both games in the regular season series:
On December 30, 2007, the Celtics routed the Lakers at the Staples Center on throwback jersey night by a score of 110–91. The Lakers also played the first half in throwback shorts, but went back to their regular shorts at halftime after they were down big. With the win, the Celtics also prevented Lakers coach Phil Jackson from surpassing Red Auerbach for seventh all-time in coaching wins. With it being the first time the Celtics Big 3 visited the Lakers as a unit and it being throwback jersey night, there was a lot of emotion in the building; as such, there were seven technical fouls assessed to both teams in the game. The Celtics moved to 26–3, which continued one of their best starts in franchise history.
The game was also a harbinger of things to come in the 2008 Finals. Bryant scored 22 points, but did so inefficiently, going 6-for-25. This would be a theme in the Finals, as Bryant still was able to score 25.7 PPG, but shot just 40 percent from the field. On the other end, Paul Pierce scored 33 points and Kevin Garnett shut down the Lakers' big men, two things that continued in the Finals. A little over one month after this game, the Lakers traded for Memphis Grizzlies star forward Pau Gasol, largely in part to match-up with Garnett.
Series summary Game Date Road team Result Home team Game 1 June 5 Los Angeles Lakers 88–98 (1–0) Boston Celtics Game 2 June 8 Los Angeles Lakers 102–108 (2–0) Boston Celtics Game 3 June 10 Boston Celtics 81–87 (2–1) Los Angeles Lakers Game 4 June 12 Boston Celtics 97–91 (3–1) Los Angeles Lakers Game 5 June 15 Boston Celtics 98–103 (3–2) Los Angeles Lakers Game 6 June 17 Los Angeles Lakers 92–131 (2–4) Boston Celtics Note: team in Bold won the game
Game summaries
All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4). If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.
Game 1
Going into the game, LA have found themselves on the road in game 1 for the first time that playoffs. On the other hand, Boston, who were the league's best team, had home court advantage for the series. The game started very tight, with teams trading buckets and turnovers. For Boston, the go-to guy was Kevin Garnett, who had racked up 10 first-quarter points. For the Lakers, Kobe was struggling with his shot, as he went 1/7 for the quarter, but was dishing out assists and playing defense very solid, as he looked to get others involved early. Paul Pierce was also struggling, and has gotten himself into foul trouble early, as he had 3 points and 3 fouls going into the third quarter.
In the second quarter, Garnett had racked up 8 more points and had already matched his playoff points average at 18.8. Despite Garnett's monstrous efforts, the Celtics found themselves down 51–46 at halftime. The main reason for the Lakers lead was Pau Gasol, who was hitting tough fadeaways and layups, and had also gotten P.J. Brown in foul trouble with his physicality and footwork. On the other hand, Kobe Bryant was a non-factor offensively but was making up for it with the same kind of defense that earned him the 1st team All-defense. The Lakers ended the half on a 10–2 run.
In the beginning of the third quarter, Celtics forward Paul Pierce was injured after a collision with Celtics center and teammate, Kendrick Perkins. He was taken out of the game with 8:42 left in the quarter. The following offensive possession, Perkins was hit in the leg by the sneaker of Pau Gasol. He soon also left the game. But despite the injuries of their star players, the Celtics went on a 6–0 run and have regained the lead. But then Paul Pierce miraculously came back in the game, reinvigorating the crowd, and carried the Boston Celtics in the third quarter. Following his return Paul Pierce would shoot 6-6 from the field and hit three straight three pointers. Not to ignore the fact that Kobe exploded in that third quarter, hitting and defending shots from anywhere inside the arc, before getting himself in foul trouble late in the third. Paul Pierce scored 15 points on 4-4 shooting from the field in the third quarter to give Boston the lead going into the fourth.
Then in the fourth, the Celtics never trailed. Kobe sitting out the first half of the quarter due to foul trouble allowed Boston to slowly increase the lead all the way up to 10. Garnett's putback dunk over 2 Lakers defenders sealed the Celtics victory, completing his 24 points alongside 13 rebounds performance. For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant had 24 points. The Boston Celtics ended up winning game 1 with a final score of 98–88.
Pierce apparently injured his knee by falling awkwardly on Kendrick Perkins' leg, and was taken off the court in a wheelchair. Despite what Pierce's reaction suggested was a highly debilitating injury, he returned to action minutes later to raucous cheering from the crowd. Pierce admitted during coverage of the 2019 NBA Finals that he just had to use the bathroom.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: He soon hit two three-pointers on consecutive offensive possessions that gave Boston the lead for good and finished with 22 points. It was later dubbed by some as the "Wheelchair Game".
The Lakers, who had had home court advantage throughout the first three rounds and had not trailed a series in that same time, now had to do without both luxuries for the first time.
Game 2
From the tip-off, this game showed the Lakers' need for a win. The Lakers established an early 15–8 lead in the first quarter, highlighted by an early play where Pau Gasol scored a drop step, and-one poster layup and drew a foul against Kevin Garnett after a defensive rebound by Kobe Bryant. Boston responded by substituting sophomore forward Leon Powe, whose aggressive, physical style of play of drawing fouls drew ten free-throw attempts within his first three minutes on the court, helping the Celtics close the deficit. Despite Powe's heroics, the Lakers maintained their advantage to end the first quarter ahead 22–20.
In the second quarter, the Celtics decided to up the pace, and were able to rack up 10 unanswered points, as their defense has stopped LA's offense who haven't scored for the first 3 minutes of the quarter. The Celtics' defense also forced 9 turnovers by the Lakers (for reference, they had 8 turnovers in all of game 1) Paul Pierce decided to make up for his poor offensive efforts in the first half of game 1, as he scored 16 points in the first half. For the Lakers, Kobe got himself into foul trouble and the technical, which he got for taunting Ray Allen after making a tough lefty layup over him, didn't help. The Lakers team effort was the only thing keeping them alive in this game. The first half ended with the Boston Celtics holding a commanding 54–42 lead.
The Celtics have held the Lakers scoreless until 7:52 remaining in the third as their lead began getting bigger and bigger. The game fell for the Celtics, including back-to-back triples by Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. The Celtics built up a comfortable 20 point lead to end the third. The exclamation point on the blowout was Leon Powe with back-to-back poster slams over the Lakers' defense.