Welcome to Staples Center …
LOS ANGELES — Welcome to Staples Center, where the Boston Celtics will take on the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals tonight at 9 p.m.. The Celtics lead the best-of-seven series, 3-1.
Like clockwork.
Ray Allen and Glen Davis are out early warming up. Same routine as usual, Allen working up a sweat stroking that smooth jumper, Davis getting physical with some post moves. A 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals is no time to change what works.
We’re on Kendrick Perkins watch this evening. The Celtics center yesterday put his chances of starting at 50-50. No sign of the big man in the building so far, but he usually comes out a little later. If Perkins doesn’t go, look for P.J. Brown to start.
We’ll have an update on Perkins as soon as possible.
It’s very early for fans to be arriving, but several Celtics jerseys were spotted on the way in. With tonight being a potential championship-clinching game, we expect lucky Celtics fans to snatch up a few more tickets at Staples this evening.
We’ll cover every angle tonight, so stay tuned.
UPDATE (6:28 p.m. EDT): Leon Powe, Eddie House, P.J. Brown, Brian Scalabrine, and James Posey just walked into the arena. That means the team bus is here. An update on Perkins can’t be far behind.
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