Los Angeles Lakers Luke Walton’s clutch free throw, made with just 30 seconds left in the game, destroyed the Boston Celtics hopes of beating the Lakers by more than 40 points in the sixth game of this year’s NBA Finals. The free throw capped off a 7-3 Lakers surge during the final, exciting, 1:22 and cut the Celtics lead from a game high 43 points to a mere 39. A Jordan Farmar three-point shot and a Sasha Vujacic jumper rounded out the flurry of Lakers scoring.
“Speaking as the world’s greatest basketball player,” said Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, the world’s greatest basketball player, “it was great to see the other guys step up and cut into the Celtics lead.” Bryant, who left the game at the 2:21 mark with 22 points was replaced by Vujacic who had scored 5 critical points before his last minute jumper ballooned his point total to 7.
“We couldn’t get it done,” said crestfallen Celtics forward Kevin Garnett. “We had a chance to make history, and we blew it. Winning the championship is some consolation, but you get a chance to beat the Lakers by more than 40 points about once a century. We flat out weren’t able to hold them off.”
“It would have been easy for our guys to give up when they were 43 points behind,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, “but they never quit. They stepped up. They did what they needed to do, even with the world's greatest basketball player sitting on the bench. I'm proud of every member of our team, especially the world's greatest basketball player, who was willing to let his teammates show what they were made of.”
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