LOS ANGELES — History will have to marinate.
Give this one a few days, or maybe after these NBA Finals are over, for the miracle workers in green to fathom the significance of Thursday’s Game 4.
It all happened so fast. In the Celtics’ 97-91 win, they trailed by as many as 24 points before staging a historic comeback, cutting the lead to two after three quarters, and then defeating the Lakers in Los Angeles. It was a stunning whirlwind.
“This summer, I’ll be able to have it soak in a little better than now,” Boston’s Paul Pierce said.
Since the Elias Sports Bureau became the NBA’s official statistician in 1970-71, Boston’s comeback is the biggest in NBA Finals history.
And now, the Celtics can win their 17th championship Sunday, in Los Angeles, where the Lakers hadn’t lost in the postseason until Thursday.
“Some turnaround in that ballgame,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, with his team down 3-1. “But this is not over.”
The pivotal play in the game, and thus the NBA Finals, came with 15.7 seconds left, and the Celtics up three. As the shot clock ticked to single digits, Boston’s Ray Allen had defender Sasha Vujacic one-on-one at the top of the key.
“Kevin (Garnett) ran up to set a screen, and I told him to back off,” Allen said.
Then, with the world’s eyes on him, Allen unleashed a stutter-step drive past Vujacic, nothing but purple paint in front of him.
“I probably should have helped him out, reacted to the penetration,” said center Pau Gasol, who was closest to the driving Allen. “I just wasn’t expecting it.”
The Lakers led 58-40 at the half, but in the game-changing third quarter, Boston gambled by playing small reserves James Posey and Eddie House extended minutes. The strategy was to thwart the Lakers’ trapping defense
The extraordinary Kobe Bryant, just as in the other two Lakers’ losses, played ordinary. By halftime, his team led by 18, but Bryant hadn’t made a field goal. Over in the Boston locker room, Pierce told coach Doc Rivers that he wanted to guard Bryant more in the second half. Bryant made only six field goals in the second half, finishing with 17 points (he averages 31.6 this postseason).
“We won the game because Paul was a tremendous defensive player,” Rivers said.
The Lakers’ Lamar Odom played inspired basketball from the tipoff, making his first seven shots, committing just one foul all night and finishing the evening with 19 points and 10 rebounds, both team highs. And Gasol added 10 rebounds and 17 points. But for all the praise splashed onto the Lakers’ frontcourt, the two combined for just six points and two rebounds in the fourth quarter.
Said Pierce: “I want nothing more than a ring right now. But I’m not going to get overexcited. . . . I’ll be able to enjoy it even more once it’s all over.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
