Double barrel finals action

Tonight it was double barrel finals action with the (4) Boston Celtics taking care of the (1) Los Angeles Lakers 103-94 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals and the (2) Chicago Blackhawks beating the (7) Philadelphia Flyers 7-4 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. The NBA Finals are tied at one game each and the Blackhawks lead the Stanley Cup Final 3 games to 2.

I'm not happy that both games tonight went on the air at exactly the same time. I think that both could recognize that there is a championship series from another major professional sports league going on and try to work around each other. I blame the NHL for not being more pro-active in trying to grow its fan base. The NHL is definitely in 4th place in terms of popularity among the major team sports in the United States and should recognize this. Logically that means that it would lose the ratings battle against a sport that is more popular than it in the NBA. I think the NHL is taking too hard of a line on this and that Commissioner Gary Bettman and the other higher-ups in the NHL should work on avoiding starting times that conflict with the NBA Finals. Hockey is king in Canada and will always be watched there, but hockey officials should try harder to gain popularity in America and tonight wasn't a great example of how to do that.

As for the games, I mostly watched the NBA Finals and checked out some of the hockey during the commercials. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 32 points and had a Finals record 8 three-pointers made. Rajon Rondo had a triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Pau Gasol had 25 points and Kobe Bryant 21 for the Lakers. With Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett not having their best games, it was huge for the Celtics that Allen and Rondo both came up big. Allen lit it up in the first half in which he made 7 of his 3s and Rondo helped secure the win down the stretch. The Celtics were down with five minutes to go but I think their championship experience which enabled them to not be fazed by the hostile environment that is the Staples Center plus having a star point guard in Rondo were the keys to them pulling this one out.

Bryant seemed to disappear down the stretch for the Lakers. I lost track of how many shots he missed late in the game, but it was a lot. I watched the game with my brother and the two of us both noted that on several possessions he didn't even look to pass it, rather being bound and determined to jackknife up shots no matter the percentages of it actually going in. It was great to see the Lakers lose on their home floor, it's one of those things in basketball that just makes me happy. I kind of enjoyed seeing how angry Bryant looked in his post game press conference, plus hearing coach Phil Jackson whine (again) about the referees, proving once again he may be the most classless coach in all of sports. Some people are just sore losers. The Celtics played better and deserved to win. Game 3 is on Tuesday at 7 p.m. MT on ABC. It's a very pivotal game and the winner will essentially have a firm grasp on the series. I'm looking forward to it and I think the Celtics will win it at home.

As for the hockey game, I didn't get to watch a whole lot of it, but it seemed like every time I switched to it that somebody was scoring a goal. The Blackhawks apparently separated their star players from the same line for this game and it paid great dividends with 7 goals being scored. Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, who is detested in Chicago, had a miserable game and had an awful plus-minus rating. Flyers goaltender Michael Leighton gave up 3 goals in the first period and was replaced for the second time in the series by Brian Boucher, who didn't fare a whole lot better. My guess is Leighton will be back in net for Game 6 in Philadelphia, where he has played well throughout the playoffs. Game 6 is set for Wednesday at 6 p.m. MT on NBC.