Sporty attitude

Paul Pierce was in wonderful form for Bolton Celtics as they defeated Pistons by 89-81 in the Eastern Conference finals to advance to the NBA finals. In the finals they will face Los Angeles Lakers for the Championship.

Rey Allen scored 17 points and Kevin Garnett added 16 points for Celtics and Paul Pierce also excelled with the ball which earned them a shot at the Championship. Celtics and Lakers haven met so far in the finals since 1987 and which was also the last appearance for Boston Celtics on the NBA’s biggest stage. The Celtics outscored Pistons 29-13 in the final period and also went on a powerful 23-6 run in the fourth. This loss happened to be the third straight season loss for Detroit in the Eastern conference finals. Pierce who grew up in the Los Angeles area will go up against his hometown team in a final match up. The 30 year old also told that he was a great fan of the Celtics-Lakers match that happened in the 1980’s, was the star of the fourth quarter. The finals will be of great quality since Boston’s big three will face against Lakers Kobe Bryant who is the reigning MVP and a three time NBA champion.

Atlanta Hawks general manager Billy Knight announced his retirement from the Hawks team and the Hawks have announced that his resignation has brought an end to a run of six seasons with the Club.

Billy Knight was the only person for whom all credit must go in bringing a doormat Atlanta Hawks team into a NBA play-off team. Atlanta finished the past season with a 37-45 record and even pushed the top seeded Bolton Celtics team into a seven game in the first round playoff. Billy told that the time has come for him to evaluate his future plans and also told that he was extremely happy with what the team has accomplished this season. He also told that his passion for the franchise has never wavered and also told that he is leaving the team in a much better shape than it was when he took over. Knight took the Charge of this Hawks team in April 2003 after spending one year of the season in Atlanta’s director of basketball operations. The Hawks co-owner was all praise for Billy and told that Billy has built a team of athletic and high talented players who have an enormous potential to turn the game. Now we may see new GM with lanyards of Hawker’s team hanging around soon.

Osasuna came back strongly from a deficit to defeat the nine man Real Madrid team 2-1 in the Spanish League and escaped from being relegated from the league. Osasuna is a club which wants to stay in the Spanish league started the day in the final relegation spot and was looked in at a serious trouble after going behind, since an early goal from Gonzalo Higuain shocked them.

But immediately within seconds Jaroslav Plasil drew the game for his team and Real Madrid suffered a major blow when they lost Michel Salgado in the 56^th minute due to a red card. After that Osasuna ace striker Juanfran scored a brilliant goal to keep Osasuna in La Liga. For Madrid this match happened to be on their worst side since they lost Klass Jan Huntelaar to a red card and faced their fifth successive defeat in the Spanish League. Osasuna’s quick response and extrodinary play earned them a place in the Spanish league for another time. Osasuna survived a scare in the 48^th minute when Madrid duo Rafael Van der Vaart and Marcello failed to get an easy goal in the attack. With this loss Real Madrid’s title hopes are at stake.