Celtic Paul Pierce... Dragon Slayer! As Lakers "Wet The Bed" and Loose NBA Finals Game 4

Forget the Kevin Garnett mystique. Forget that "Sleeping Giant" Ray Allen, may have finally woken up. This NBA finals will be remembered for Boston Celtics' "The Man", who before Garnett and Allen arrived was "the man", and who remains "the man"... Paul Pierce.

The Boston Celtics were down 24 points in the 4th quarter and steamrolled back to win the game and make history with the greatest come from behind win in NBA Finals History. Last night in game four of the NBA Finals Kobe Bryant scored only 17 points. He was being guarded by Paul Pierce... enough said.

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - The Boston Celtics used their defense to generate one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history and now stand one win from their first championship since 1986.

Paul Pierce scored 20 points as the Celtics rallied from a 24-point first-half deficit to beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 97-91, in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Boston's defense locked down on Kobe Bryant and outscored the Lakers, 57-33 in the second half.

"It's just great mental toughness," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "We've been preaching leaning in. When things get bad, we leaned into each other all year and tonight we did it."

The Celtics, trying for their record 17th championship, lead the best-of-seven series, 3-1, by virtue of just their third road victory in this year's playoffs.

Kevin Garnett added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Ray Allen made a huge contribution with 19 points and nine rebounds. James Posey scored 18, which included a big three-pointer in the final two minutes.

Bryant was limited to 17 points and 10 assists on 6-of-19 shooting for the Lakers, who were ahead by 20 halfway through the third before collapsing and watching their 15-game home winning streak come to a crashing halt. The Lakers had been 9-0 at the Staples Center in the playoffs, but suffered their first home defeat since March 28 to Memphis.

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Flopping In The NBA: One Brother Speaks Out!

By Jayar Jackson

Remember when your parents would tell you to clean yourself up, straighten up the house, and pick up your mess when company was coming over?

Sure, your dirty little friends came over all the time and they were never this strict with the rules.

They just didn’t want important people to come in the house and think that they were raising a slob.

Well, the NBA has been welcoming the company of more than just the average everyday fan for over a month now that the playoffs have taken center stage.

In the never ending goal of taking advantage of the increased exposure to expand the fan base, Daddy David Stern and the league have announced plans to impose fines on players for clear cases of flopping. Apparently, they are hearing the chorus of complaints that is growing daily from dedicated fans that see the natural feel of the game slipping away.

The flopping phenomenon that many attribute to being founded by Vlade Divac back in his playing days has become a league wide plague that has seemingly infested every player. The opportunity to add a foul to your opponent’s tally, frustrate the hell out of him, and get control of the ball in crucial situations is just too much of a juicy result to pass up for many.

We see contemporary versions of Divac in the league, making a living off of flailing their arms and stumbling to the floor from the slightest touch, or sometimes no contact at all. As long as bad acting gets rewarded with a trophy, this live theatre on the floor will continue to be commonplace.

Sometimes out of pure retaliation, the “tough guys” of the league have begun to face plant in hopes of sending the league-leading floppers in a tizzy. It’s a horrific cycle that needed to be addressed. But is this the answer? Will this simply put more pressure on the referees to spot, identify, and call the ghost fouls the other way in the heat of the moment while many other things are going on around them?

There are times that they have a bad angle on a play and impromptu meetings are needed to determine the correct call. What will the fate of the refs be when they miss an obvious one simply because some dude that happens to be 6’10” and weighs 270 lbs stands in front of them?

If the fines are retroactive once the league reviews a game from the night before, what will they decide about the outcome of the game being affected by the flop? Can a “flopping ref” be added to the already three refs occupying the floor crowded by giants, cameramen, and pompous millionaires with courtside seats? I don’t think they will agree to moving back 5 feet, as they won’t be able to give high fives to their favorite players as if they know them.

Let’s not forget that these refs deal with home crowds, superstar players, hall of fame coaches, and everyone at home yelling at them for 48 minutes, telling them they’re getting everything wrong. This just might just alter the problem the NBA faces from falling for the flop and turn into how to truly and effectively eliminate it’s stronghold on the league.

There will definitely still be some loose ends to tie up in order to exterminate the virus that so many complain about, but at least the NBA has realized that it left it’s bed unmade, dirty dishes all over the place, and filthy sneakers in the doorway. “You’re not going to embarrass this family when company comes over next time, I know that!”

Jayar is holding it down over there at The Young Turks

JASON KIDD BRINGS WINNING BACK TO DALLAS, DIVORCE WITH EX-WIFE JOUMANA WAS AVOIDABLE

That messy Jason and Joumana Kidd divorce could have been avoided. Jason said he needed a "change". He know clarifies: "... not women... basketball teams, Honey I was talking about teams!" A bit too late for that little confession. But not too late for the rejuvinated NBA Dallas Mavericks, as Jason Kidd was retuned home to Dallas.


"And all is right with the world. That's probably just one of the thoughts Maverick coach Avery Johnson has as he drove home after last nights wins over the Chicago Bulls. But it's really former MVP Dirk Nowitzki who hasn't stopped smiling since he got hooked back up with an elite point guard after three-plus years without one.

But the San Antonio Spurs and hot handed Manu Ginobili say the party stops with their match up on February 28th. Not to be out done Kobe Bryant and the new “Pao Gasol” Lakers have threatened a beat down at their March 2nd. show down.

DALLAS -- The first assist on a nostalgic Monday night at American Airlines Center was actually recorded Sunday night on a Dallas-bound plane from Minneapolis.

It was on that team flight home that Dirk Nowitzki huddled with his coach to make sure that Jason Kidd would be introduced last among Mavericks starters for Kidd's first game as a Mav in more than 11 years.

Kidd then followed up his grand re-entrance with just enough fancy passing of his own in a comfortable 102-94 victory over Chicago to make it pretty clear why Nowitzki was so gracious. Read more of this Jason Kidd home coming By Marc Stein at ESPN.com