Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett must bounce back from horrible shooting performances if the Boston Celtics are to keep the Los Angeles Lakers from levelling the NBA Finals this morning.
The Lakers dropped the first two games in Boston but can pull even in the best-of-seven championship series with a victory today after shutting down the Celtics' top scorers in an 87-81 triumph in game three.
"We're a pretty confident bunch," Lakers star Kobe Bryant said. "It's just about doing what we've got to do to win. You just go out there, do the things you've been taught and control the things you can."
Pierce was a woeful 2-for-14 from the field in game three, scoring only six points in his Hollywood homecoming, while Garnett went 6-for-21 and had 13 points – both Finals debutantes well below their usual totals.
"I was probably a little more anxious than normal being that I'm at home in front of more family and friends, but I've got to block that out and go leave it on the court. I've done it in the past. It's time for me to do it again," he confirmed.
"I'll just keep shooting the ball. A lot of the looks I got were looks I can make, so just stay positive and if I get those same looks in game four, I'm confident they'll be in."
Garnett plans to pound his way through the Lakers defence to the basket more, giving better scoring chances to a team that hit only 29-of-83 shots on Tuesday.
"I've got to do a lot better job of getting guys easy shots by being aggressive. I'm being patient but at the same time I have to attack the basket, so look for more of that," Garnett said.
"I guess the consistency is the big question mark and I wasn't doing that. I think for the most part they are doing a good job of mixing up the schemes. I have to be better at recognising them."
Game four tips-off for basketball fans in the emirate at 9am this morning.