Nobody expected the Los Angeles Lakers to register a blowout 89-67 win against the favored Boston Celtics.
But just the same, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest and Lamar Odom led the way for the Lakers in holding the Celtics to an NBA Finals low 67 points en route to the 22-point victory, thus far the biggest winning margin in this tightly-contested title series.
Unlike Game 5 where Bryant had little help offensively, Game 6 was a completely different story.
Bryant led the Lakers with 26 points and 11 rebounds, Gasol added 17, 13 boards, nine assists and three blocks, while Artest and Odom produced worthy performances as well. Artest added 15 points while Odom finished with eight and 10 rebounds.
The taller Lakers pounded the inside as they dominated the boards, 52-39.
Boston shot just 33 percent from the field with Ray Allen the lone bright spot, leading the green-and-white with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
With just one more game to decide which team will be crowned the 2010 champion, strategies, Xs and Os will no longer be relevant completely. Whichever team has the big, fighting heart, whichever team wants it more, that team will run away with the title.
For the Lakers, the keys to a back-to-back championship include rebounding dominance, good shot selection, tenacious defense and the home crowd participation.
For the Celtics, it’s forgetting they led at one point in the series, 3-2; board domination and good ball movement.
Which color will dominate the NBA’s final game of the season? Gold Or Green?
Your guess is as good as mine.