By Mike Bresnahan
Los Angeles Times
January 31, 2011
If the Lakers had played this way last June, there would have been no Game 7 victory, no champagne spray, no championship parade, no chance at a three-peat and, on a positive note, Ron Artest would have taken off his jersey on the night of June 17 instead of three fun-filled days later.
The season that won't straighten out continued to lurch and roll uneasily for the Lakers, who fell to the Boston Celtics, 109-96, Sunday at Staples Center, the latest indication that the defending champs are having trouble defending . . . and scoring . . . and sharing the ball . . . and just about everything else.
Kobe Bryant gave the Lakers an "F" for a defense that yielded a 59-point second half, a one-sided Celtics burst written in black ink on the whiteboard in the Lakers' locker room.
Paul Pierce scored 32 points and Ray Allen had 21 as the Celtics shot a remarkable 60.3% Sunday. Shaquille O'Neal (0 for 2) was the only Celtics player not to make at least half his shots.
The Lakers had a pathetic 10 assists, six fewer than Celtics guard Rajon Rondo, and their fans grumpily filed en masse for the exits during a timeout with 1:29 to play, the Celtics up 14.
The big picture continued to look bleak for the Lakers (33-15), now on a 3-4 skid while falling to the fifth-best record in the NBA. They are 1-4 against the teams ahead of them
