NBA Finals | Travel led to sloppiness, players say

LOS ANGELES — Maybe the NBA Finals should book an appointment with one of Southern California's finest plastic surgeons.

After a shabby, sluggish Game 3, featuring enough air balls and air-headed plays for seven games, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers could use a few nips, tucks and lifts. Another good night's sleep or afternoon nap might help, too.

"It wasn't the prettiest game," said Celtics center Kevin Garnett, who missed two dunks and seems to have left his shooting touch back in May.

For two franchises that have combined for 30 titles won by a Who's Who of Hall of Fame hoopsters, it was indeed a night to forget.

But playing in front of Jack, Denzel, Hef and the rest of their celebrity-laden crowd in Staples Center, where they're 9-0 in the postseason and perfect over the past two months, the Lakers, despite missing 13 free throws, pulled within 2-1 in the reborn rivalry series with an 87-81 victory Tuesday night.

Boston, for its many warts, which included a 35 percent shooting performance, still had a chance to win.

As the teams practiced for tonight's Game 4, several players blamed the six-hour flight from Boston to Los Angeles for the sloppiness.

"I think most of the players out there struggled physically," Lakers center Pau Gasol said. "You could tell the travel and Game 2 and 3 being so tight together, going across the country pretty much is an overseas trip. It was like going back to Spain. I think that was a factor."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers, too, noticed players may have been feeling the affects of jet lag and fighting fatigue.

"This was the first game that I had four or five different players during the game signal to pull them out," he said.

The Lakers' superstar Kobe Bryant scored 36 points, and showing why he's the league's MVP, did what he had to do to get his team back into the finals.

However, only one of his teammates — Sasha Vujacic — matched Bryant's production. The 24-year-old came off the bench and scored a career-high 20 points.

Los Angeles' other four starters — Gasol, Vladimir Radmanovic, Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher — combined for 22 points on 7-of-28 shooting.

The Celtics have their own problems, like getting Garnett going and hoping that Paul Pierce doesn't choke under the pressure of playing in front of folks from his neighborhood in nearby Inglewood.

There's also the playing status of point guard Rajon Rondo, who injured his left ankle early in the second half of Game 3 and was kept out of practice on Wednesday.

Rivers said if the speedy Rondo is slowed by the injury that backups Eddie House and Sam Cassell would see more time. Rivers also may use Tony Allen, who hasn't played in the series but did a solid job of guarding Bryant during Boston's two wins over L.A. in the regular season.

Schilling blogs Kobe

LOS ANGELES — Curt Schilling called out Kobe Bryant on the Boston Red Sox ace's blog for yelling at his Los Angeles Lakers' teammates in their Game 2 loss.

Schilling sat courtside in Boston wearing a Larry Bird jersey and flashing his World Series championship ring for TV cameras. He was within earshot of the Lakers' bench and made some observations on Bryant.

"He'd yell at someone, make a point, or send a message, turn and walk away, and more than once the person on the other end would roll eyes or give a 'whatever dude' look," Schilling wrote on his web site, www.38pitches.com.

Asked if he was disappointed in Schilling's comments, Bryant responded, "Go Yankees!" and pumped his fist, drawing laughter from reporters Wednesday.

Bryant was unapologetic.

"After the time of all those bleeps, we almost pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in history," he said. "It seemed to motivate them pretty well."

Notes

• Game 3 of the NBA Finals drew the highest television ratings of the series, earning a 9.2 rating on ABC, the network said. That's up 44 percent from the 6.4 last year for Spurs-Cavaliers. It was the highest rating for a Game 3 since Lakers-Pistons in 2004 drew a 10.5.