Celtics & Lakers Both Up 3-2

Wednesday night saw the Celtics back on "safeground" as they hosted the Cleveland Cavs in Boston. The Cavs were up by as many as 10 points in the first half, with Lebron James scoring 23 points in the half. Boston narrowed the gap to just 3 points heading into halftime. It seems as if the breakout star who's emerged for the Celtics is now Rajon Rando, their point guard. Rando led the way along with KG even though Cleveland kept it close down the stretch. Bostn was able to effectively defend Lebron in the 2nd half, preventing his typical scoring outbursts. A Delonte West lane violation sealed things in the final seconds, and the Celtics pushed forward with a 96-89 win. Boston now leads the series 3-2 and will try to eliminate Cleveland in their next contest. Detroit continues to await the winner of this series.

In the late game, a sore lower back wasn't enough to keep NBA MVP Kobe Bryant off the court Wednesday night, as he suited up for Game 5 against the Jazz. Kobe scored 26 points despite his injury. This was a close contest throughout with Derron Williams (27 points, 10 assists) trying his best to keep Utah in it. In the closing seconds, Pau Gasol grabbed a huge offensive rebound and slammed it back to put the Lakers up for good. In the 111-104 Lakers win, Odom had 22 points and 11 boards. A full stat line saw Gasol getting 21 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. Right about now, it's looking like the Gasol trade was the best move made in the West. After all, Pau came from the same conference and now he's putting the hurt on opponents with the Lakers. I won't dare make the comparison, but quite possibly Kobe-Gasol is Phil Jackson's 2nd coming of Jordan/Pippen.

Again, it may be a great thing for the NBA Finals to see a revitalized rivalry with the Boston Celtics facing the Los Angeles Lakers. The Big 3 vs. the MVP, could be in the works.