In the battle between offense and defense that is the NBA Finals, the defense took round one as the Celtics won Game 1. On a night where the original focus was on Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce stole the spotlight with a Willis Reed-lite performance. With 6:49 left in the third, Pierce went down with an injured knee after colliding with Kendrick Perkins. Less than two minutes later though, he would return to the roar of the TD Banknorth Garden crowd.

Many will say the Celtics were inspired by Pierce, who scored 11 points after he came back to the game, including two threes in 22 seconds that gave Boston the lead after three. In reality, the game was won by good defense down the stretch. For most of the fourth quarter, all the Lakers' possession seemed like either missed shot by Sasha Vujacic (some good looks, some not so good), or Kobe trying to do much and taking a bad, heavily contested shot, which missed. The defense allowed Boston to slowly pull away down the stretch.

For Kevin Garnett, it was an up and down first Finals game. He was great in the first half, scoring 16 points. In the second half though, he went in to a funk, missing nine shots in a row. Many of them were long jumpers, as KG showed reluctance to bang inside. However, up six late, Garnett followed a missed three with a huge dunk. House brought down, game over.

Kobe Bryant, meanwhile, finished with 24 points, but on 9-26 shooting.

Most of the game was a back and forth affair that showed the potential of this series. Overall, there were 13 ties and 12 lead changes, all of which in the first three quarters. The fourth was all Boston, who now lead the series 1-0.

Game 2 is Sunday night. Will the Lakers rebound? Will Pierce's injury continue to affect the Celtics?

Boston 98, LA Lakers 88

Oh, and to explain the title. At some point (I can't remember), Doc Rivers was talking to his players and said "Remember what that South African guy said about adversity." I found it hilarious, and it would be RedLassoed if I could remember when it was.