Once again, the Spurs show their quality when it counts.

Good effort by the Hornets. We'll be seeing more of them in the coming years.

You've really got to hand it to San Antonio. I picked them before the series, but after 3 blowout losses at New Orleans, I really didn't think they could come out of there with a victory. Seems the only thing more dangerous than underestimating the Hornets is underestimating the Spurs. The Lakers will have their hands full.

Well,I'm shocked! The Pistons beat the Celtics IN Boston,last night,which is no small task.

To me, the surprising part is that all 3 of the Celtics big 3 had big games --even Ray Allen -- and they still lost. Both teams also shot nearly 50%, which for these defensive grinders is astonishing.

I expect to see Boston take a game at Detroit, but I still think if the Pistons stay focused, they win this series.

The Lakers win game 2 by 30! Can't say I saw that coming. Ginoblii is clearly not quite right. I thought he was going to kill the Hornets but he didn't. And he's doing nothing against the Lakers either.

Still, the Spurs lost the first 2 in New Orleans by big margins, and we know how that ended. The Lakers have got to bring their A game to San Antonio.

The Pistons sure wasted a golden opportunity,last night!

Well, the Lakers didn't bring even their B game. This is starting to look a lot like the Spurs/Hornets series. I just hope it ends a little bit different.

The outcome of this game didn't surprise me at all. You knew the Spurs weren't going to roll over and die. I, still believe the Lakers will take the series in 6, and it will be a LA-Boston finals.

I think a lot may depend on Ginobli. He sure got better from his ankle problem last night. But it could still be an issue.

Smokey, so what do you think of Phil Jackson's "motivational" tactics with Pau?

Who are you calling a weenie?

Edited to add: Well, in any case the Lakers eked out a huge win. And although Duncan put up monster numbers (again), at least he was held to 10 for 26 shooting, so maybe Pau did indeed get tougher. Although the key was Ginobli being back to having a bad game.

The Spurs played a lousy game but how on earth was that foul not called on Derek Fisher against Brent Barry? Barry should have been shooting free throws. The torch was probably going to be passed this series anyway but that was pretty bogus.

Because Joey Crawford was officiating.
Seriously, the Lakers should have had a new 24 after Fisher's last shot (it touched the rim), so the non-call on Fisher's foul sort of evened things out. But congratulations to the Spurs themselves for not blaming that (non) call for their loss. That's why your team is a class act.

Well the thing is that the rim call, without benefit of replay, is easily missed. I've watched numerous replays today and I can't tell definitively that it hit the rim. There is absolutely no doubt that Fisher fouled Barry.

As for Crawford, I know you were making a joke, but why on earth, with all the refs out there, would the NBA assign him to a Spurs game. The NBA is embrolied in a referee gambling scandal and this very ref was suspended for his anti-Spurs bias.

I'm sure there were missed and blown calls throughout the game. But with the game on the line, it just seems ridiculous that that call wasn't made.

The Lakers, in my mind, are the better team. The Spurs are finally showing their age. The fact that they were even in a position to win that game is nothing short of a miracle given how badly they were out-rebounded and out-shot (percenatge wise). I know most people are thrilled to have the Spurs reign be over. But it's been a pretty great decade and if they go on to lose this series, they have nothing to hang their heads about.

And if I had a dollar for every time in the past few years that the Spurs were counted out, well I'd have alot more money.

From what I read, the 20 top-rated officials are assigned to the playoffs and Crawford has that rating, so Crawford was pretty much bound to be officiating at least one of the games. Also, he officiated game 3 of Spurs/Suns, which the Spurs won.

I don't disagree that it was a foul, but it's not unusual for refs (even unbaised ones) to swallow their whistles at the end of the game. No one wants to see a game decided by free throws, unless the foul is just really blatant.

Yeah but that "swallow the whislte" thinghas always bothered me. Not calling a foul or calling a foul is still impacting the game. It just doesn't make sense to me. If it's a foul in the first three quarters or if it's a foul in the regular season, it's a foul with 1 second in the fourth quarter of a playoff game.

I'm not making excuses for the Spurs. They blew game 1 and got outhustled last night. But it's things like swallowing the whistle and giving calls to stars that they don't give to non-stars is just so ridiculous.

The league office reviewed the tape of last night's game and announced that a two-shot foul should have been called.

I kind of agree with you, but this is the way it's always been done in the NBA. Remember Jordan's immortal championship winning "hook shot" over Bryon Russell. (It was Russell that he hooked, not the shot). Of course, Fisher's not MJ, but I''m sure one can find lots of other examples of this behavior.

As much as I hate Kobe, seeing Jerry West choke up while presenting the Western Conference trophy to a teary eyed Mitch Kupkchak made me feel warm inside. It's nice to see mentors watching over their proteges.

It's tough to watch a dynasty end but that's what happened last night. The Spurs have had a great run but with teams like the Hornets, Jazz and Lakers all younger and more athletic plus a team like Portland coming up, I can't see San Antonio competing for a conference crown next year. They are the oldest team in the league. I'm not up on the contract and salary situations but I doubt they get much relief in that department that would allow them to be big players in free agency.

Larry, It's not just what you say but how you say it. Did you see Pau brush off that question about Phil during his post-game interview? Stil it is noway near as bad as what Pau was getting in Memphis. I'm going to attempt to add a link to just one thing that was played contantly on Memphis sports radio.....

http://www.zshare.net/audio/907671b3379f/

Well, Smokey, it might have helped. Although Pau didn't shoot well, he did take down a game high 19 rebounds and also blocked 4 shots -- not exactly the numbers of a "weenie."

Anyway, I'm in heaven. If someone had predicted at the beginning of the season that the Lakers would make the finals, I'd have said they were out of their mind. And now here we are.

It's the Finals, BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great, now Spike Lee, Jack Nicholson, and Dyan Cannon get to invade Boston

I thought Spike Lee was a Knicks fan.

Spike is what is comonly known as a bandwagoner. And with the ratings this seireis is expecting, he'll be front and center, at least at the games in LA (unless he's on location making a movie).

You can also expect to see a whole lot of "stars" of ABC's shows.

I'm rooting for the Celtics to take the finals. I know it's a long shot and they have no answer for Kobe Bryant but if Garnett plays enough defense to keep Bryant from getting easy shots, or Paul Pierce boxes him out, they might keep his scoring low enough to give them a chance.

It also would help if Jesus keeps the hot-hand from three-point range and Pierce goes on a tear with fast breaks to make the Lakers burn some energy on whole court defense.

I'm a bit puzzled about the extent to which the Lakers are favored in this series. For instance, 9 out of 10 of ESPN's so-called experts picked the Lakers. I think that's even more overwhelming than the margin picking the Spurs last year (and that was a series that was obviously going to be completely one-sided).

The Lakers' playoff victories have been more impressive than the Celtics, but Boston still has more talent. The Celtics will have a hard time stopping Kobe (although Ray Allen seems to get in his head for some reason), but shouldn't have a hard time stopping everyone else. Conversely, I'm not sure how the Lakers guard the "Big Three." Kendrick Perkins can also do some damage, because he's too strong for Gasol, and he's about 50% bigger than Odom, should the Lakers try that instead.

Gasol didn't do too badly against Duncan though, much better than i thought he would. If he can put the clamps on one of the c's big 3 like he did against the Spurs.....

Have to see how Rondo matches up against Fisher, it might be his toughest matchup yet. Billups did ok but was injured and his backup played Stuckey played very well in spot roles.

Would be nice if Cassell had just a tiny bit left in the tank, but it just doesn't appear to be.

I see a Laker win in 7 on the parquet floor.

When everything is stripped away and all the discussion is over the Celts advantage is that they have the home court especially if it goes 7. I think the Lakers offense is generally brilliant but their defense hasn't been consistent evidenced by the fact that they allowed some big leads only to have tightened the defense when they had to. But getting behind and trying to go to that well once to often could get them in trouble especially in Boston. I'd love to see the Lakers win there but it's going to be tough. It's the Celts power game versus the Lakers speed and finesse, kinda like in the 80's. The Lakers do have the "closer" and Boston hasn't see this Laker team, so it'll be fun.... Lakers in 7 (the way it should be).

I've followed the Celts closely all season here in Boston and am dumbfounded by all the Laker picks. I think the Celts as a team have grown up a lot with several tough series . Playoff basketball has no substitute. I think Gasol lacks big game experience and K.G. & Perkins will eat him up defensively. I think Paul Pierce is going to come up huge in his hometown.

I think the media picks the Lakers because it an easy cop-out to go on results, rather than doing the difficult analysis of what the actual games will be like. The Lakers have relatively cruised through the playoffs, whereas Boston struggled. Particularly they somehow struggled against Atlanta, which I still don't understand.

But you have to look at match-ups, and those have got to favor the Celtics. LA's big edge is in coaching. I think Doc is in over his head, but I'm not sure that's enough to make a difference here.

Yeah but the matchups heavily favored the Celtics against Atlanta and Cleveland and they barely got by them. And with Ray Allen not really playing up to snuff I'm not sure that Boston's Big 3 is better than LA's Big 3.

The Lakers' guards are better than the Celtics.

The Celtics' forwards are better than the Lakers.

The Lakers' center is better than the Celtics.

The Lakers' coach is better than the Celtics.

The Lakers over the Celtics in 6!

Well, the Lakers do have a better rapist.

If the Celtics play like they played in either of those series, the Lakers would win easily. But Boston seemed to come together against Detroit. And they did the same thing last night.

Well it turns out LA's Big Three are the ones who came up small. Pierce has been pretty good for the most part but the big factor has been Boston's bench...Powe in game 2, Posey last night.

And how do you blow a 24 point lead AT HOME? I'm glad Boston is winning because the thought of Kobe getting another ring makes me kind of ill. I really thought the Lakers were the better team but their defense is non-existent. Kobe looks to be reverting to the whining puss he was before. Amazing the Lakers were able to build such a huge lead with Kobe going the entire first half without a FG. Let's see what off season demands he makes THIS year.

This year, the greater evil is another Boston victory.

YES BOSTON......WHOOP THAT LAKER ASS!!!! SO HAPPY FOR DOC RIVERS!!! Well earned, well deserved!! Congratulations Boston on your CHAMPIONSHIP!!!

Love that Commissioner Stern got his ass boo'd by the fans!!!

I loved watching this Celtics team in the playoffs. They got better and better throughout, playing the most playoff games in one season ever. Guys like Pierce, KG and Ray Allen all seem very likable - and Doc Rivers seems quite classy (sorry - I hate that word, but it's the best one I can think of). I'm really happy for those four guys.

Yet another victory celebration in Beantown. I feel so happy for them.

Man the Boston Celtics really blew out the Washington Generals, er I mean the Los Angeles Lakers last night. 131 to 92 in an NBA Finals game? The Celtics barely averaged 100 points a game this season.

I had no horse in this race other than the fact that I am really glad to see Kobe get knocked down. And I was really happy for Kevin Garnett.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Lakers are the team everyone just loves to hate, and Kobe is the player everyone just has to hate.

We'll be back next year, and with Bynum. Which means the middle won't be like tissue paper again.

As much as it is disturbing to say, kudos to the Boston Celtics for a victorious series. I think they played with passion and just wanted it more. For this entire season the Lakers have been known to take plays off, be lackadaisical on defense, and appear to not care. Even with Bynum, Odom's Jekyll and Hyde routine and Gasol's Baby Jane Hudson psyche won't equate to a championship run. Next year the Hornets will be better. The Suns and Spurs will be back. And as a franchise, I love the Lakers. I hate Kobe. But watching the series, even if it's a team I love, if they aren't playing well enough to win, I hope they lose so they'll learn from the experience. The Lakers were an embarrassment. It's an elimination game and we see...Uncontested dunk after uncontested dunk? No challenges on three point shot after three point shot? Then Odom gets mad because KG palms the ball on an Odom layup attempt and refuses Odom's cupcake antics? Dude, I wanted to hurl. So we can say the Lakers will be back next year, but the scary thing is if the players don't step up and find some gumption, which at this point in life Odom (29), Gasol (27) looks unlikely, then watching the Lakeshow will be like sitting through a repeat of the "Wizard of Oz", no heart, no courage, and a yellow brick road that leads to a fraud behind the curtain.

Long Live Jerry West and Elgin Baylor who at least left it on the court while getting their butts kicked by Boston.

I'm not that pessimistic. First of all, the Lakers overachieved to get to the finals, and they couldn't have beaten excellent teams like the Spurs and the Jazz if they were that hopeless. They underachieved big-time once they got there, but they're young.

Second, Gasol's problem is that he just isn't physically built to be a center. He isn't strong enough, and no amount of time in the weight room is going to change that. But when Bynum is back (and I'm trying to ignore the voice in my head that says he might never be back 100%), Gasol gets to move to the 4, where is much better suited.

Odom I'm through defending, but he can always be traded. He has a large expiring contract, so he has a lot of value even if no one wants to take a chance of his ability. He's definitely an underachiever, but the guy has talent to burn.

The Lakers need to improve their (vastly overrated) bench, but that doesn't require a huge cash outlay.

I don't think the Suns will be back, unless they pull off a heist in exchange for Diaw and/or Barbosa. They'll need a lot to put a 36 year old, 350 pound O'Neal on their backs.

Celtics honored at Red Sox game.