June 17 Is a Special Day
This day is associated with a lot of stories.
June 17 is a special day.
“Why?” you’re probably wondering.
In Vietnamese traditions, June 17 is a day where the Earth gets aligned with the other planets and the sun, and the spirits of our ancestors meet for a celebration.
Nah, I’m just playing! I made that whole thing up.
However, it is a special day in the world of the NBA because two very special NBA championships were won on this day.
On June 17, 2008, the Boston Celtics, in Game 6, defeated the Los Angeles Lakers for the franchise’s 17th NBA Championship.
The Celtics hadn’t won a championship since 1986 and the fans were disgruntled.
Additionally, their stars, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were getting antsy to win their first title too. That’s why they teamed up at the beginning of the season.
However, their journey to the NBA Finals was not easy.
In the Eastern Conference First Round, it took them 7 games to defeat the 8th-seeded Atlanta Hawks.
Then, it took them another 7 games to defeat the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers in the semifinals.
Then, it took them 6 games to defeat the juggernaut Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Lakers, on the other hand, had a much easier time getting to the Finals as they only lost a total of 3 games leading up to the NBA Finals.
Based on the two teams’ performance in their respective conferences, you’d think the Lakers were going to win this series.
But no, Boston was too hungry. They ravaged their opponents:
Game 1: 98-88, Boston
Game 2: 108-102, Boston
Game 3: 87-81, L.A.
Game 4: 97-91, Boston
Game 5: 103-98, L.A.
Game 6: 131-92, Boston
The team and the city celebrated a victory that they’ve been waiting for over two decades (22 years).
The main stars on the team stuck together to run it back in 2008-09, and despite winning 62 regular-season games, they were ousted in the semifinals by the Dwight Howard-led Orlando Magic, who would eventually meet the Lakers in the Finals.
The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant was still bitter from the Finals’ loss and went into this season with a vengeance.
He led the Lakers to 65 regular-season wins, averaging 26.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.5 steals.
And in the playoffs, he did even better.
He averaged 30.2 points, 5.5 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals as he led his team to the Finals and through the Magic, whom L.A. beat in 5 games.
The following season (2009-10), the Lakers and the Celtics met again in the NBA Finals and it was pure adrenaline.
Kobe was still Kobe, which meant he was still bitter from the last time the Celtics beat him and he wanted to get revenge.
As for the Celtics, Pierce, Garnett and Allen just wanted to win another ring because they were getting old. Father Time was on their tail.
As a result, this series was competitive. No one knew who was going to be the victor.
Here are the results from the first 6 games:
Game 1: 102-89, L.A.
Game 2: 103-94, Boston
Game 3: 91-84, L.A.
Game 4: 96-89, Boston
Game 5: 92-86, Boston
Game 6: 89-67, L.A.
Game 7 was just as much of a nail-biter.
The Celtics started strong and led the first quarter 23-14. The Lakers were not feeling it here and shots did not fall for them.
But L.A. started getting loose in the second quarter and outscored Boston 20-17.
L.A. was still down, but at least they were making baskets now.
The third quarter was much the same, where the Lakers outscored their opponents 19-17 to cut the lead down.
But the fourth quarter was where the true champion was revealed.
After struggling much of the game and being down 53-57 to start the fourth, the Lakers channelled the Spirit of Champions and willed themselves to a 30-point quarter, outscoring the Celtics by 8 points for the victory.
But was it enough?
It was, as the Lakers defeated the Celtics 83-79 to win the second leg of their back-to-back championships. Annnnd Kobe got his revenge on Boston.
And this victory happened on June 17, 2010.
Told you this day was special.