What happened to the aggressiveness, the physicality in defending the perimeter? What, it all suddenly vanished at a time when the Los Angeles Lakers were in command of presumably traveling to Boston with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series of the NBA Finals.
In Hollywood, the Lakers are a sociable and ethical event in a diverse community that assembles at a venue where thousands sit in the stands and communicate on BlackBerrys or fondle with any electronic device, until Kobe Bryant reveals the most intimidating facial expression in the game and titillates the crowd with his scoring attributes.
It was a night when the Lakers had no answer in stopping Ray Allen, whose scorching three-pointers burnt out the nets. It was a night when Jack Nicholson, a lifelong Lakers fan with courtside seats, couldn’t handle the truth.
It was a night when a veteran sharpshooter refused to fall without a fight, recovering from a poor performance, as usual simultaneously, to challenge and precisely turn what seemed like a one-sided series into an interesting and a prolonged showdown. It was a night, of...
