In his very first season with the LA Lakers in 2007-08, Pau Gasol quickly established himself as a tailor-made player who fitted perfectly into the team’s structure and averaged 18.8 points and 7.8 rebounds over his 27 appearances in the regular season. Moreover, his performance in his playoff debut for the Lakers, scoring 26 points and 16 rebounds, showcased how impressively he coexisted with Kobe Bryant. This duoship led the Purple and Gold to the championship round until they were defeated in six games by their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics.
Although some might think Gasol was still in his early days in Hollywood to realize what it meant for the Lakers Nation to come short against the Celtics, the 7’0” center had already embraced LA as his new home. Instead, that defeat loss hurt him deeply and made him determined to bring a championship.
Gasol and the Lakers were eager to avenge the Celtics in 2010
After securing victory against the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals, the Lakers and Pau might have achieved their primary objective, but it wasn’t until 2010 that they got a chance to redeem themselves against their arch-rivals. Facing Boston once again in the championship round, it seemed like history was going to repeat itself as the Lakers fell to a 3-2 hole.
However, facing elimination at home, Pau elevated his performance, delivering a clutch 17-point and 13-rebound double-double along with three blocks as the Lakers notched a commanding 89-67 victory.
The Lakers’ success extended beyond winning Game 6 as Celtics’ Kendrick Perkins picked up a knee injury in that game and was ruled out for the series decider. Reflecting on the nerves of all the Lakers’ players in that do-or-die game, during his appearance on The Old Man & The Three Podcast, Gasol emphasized his team’s relentless determination.
"The defense, the grind, fighting for loose balls, the 50-50 balls, all those things were there in the Game 7. That’' what you can control - that effort, that fight," Gasol said . "We got rewarded big time."
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Pau knew the Lakers wouldn’t lose the 2010 title on their home court
In the final game of the series, the Purple and Gold shot 27-of-83 from the field and managed only 34 points in the first two quarters. However, the Celtics failed to capitalize on the Lakers’ poor shooting, scoring just 40 points by halftime.
Both teams continued their poor shooting even in the third quarter, with neither team scoring more than 20 points. As the Celtics allowed LA to stay in the game, it ultimately came back to haunt them in the fourth period, where they were outscored 30-22, leading to the Lakers’ victory.
Speaking about how motivated the Lakers were to beat their arch-rivals and win the championship, Pau revealed what inspired his teammates not to lose Game 7.
"Besides the tradition and the history of the rivalry, it was more having lost against them in '08 and not allowing them to beat us again," the Spaniard added. "To me, that was it's not going to happen. It's not going to happen on our home court. That's why we fought so hard."
Related: “You have to have thick skin to be in our locker room” - Kobe on why the Lakers locker room had fun with Blake Griffin’s poster dunks over Pau Gasol
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