Tony Allen blames Celtics’ 2010 loss against Kobe Bryant’s Lakers on Kendrick Perkins’ injury: “For sure”

The Los Angeles Lakers clinched an 83-79 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals, lifting their second consecutive championship trophy. According to former Celtics guard Tony Allen, Kobe Bryant and co. wouldn’t have won if Kendrick Perkins had been healthy for the contest.

During an appearance on “Run It Back,” Allen claimed that his stint at Boston should’ve ended with two titles — the one they earned in 2008 and the one that slipped away in 2010. He blames Perkins’ horrific knee injury as a reason for their loss.

“We always say we supposed to get two (championships). Obviously, we couldn’t get one in 2009, Ticket (Kevin Garnett) had an injury,” Allen said. “But following back in 2010, we were able to get back to the finals.

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"I thought if Kendrick Perkins hadn't gotten hurt, I thought he would have been doing a great job defending their bigs – Pau, Bynum, and those guys… I thought if he doesn't get hurt, I think I'm sitting pretty with two rings right now, for sure.”

Kendrick Perkins had an effective role as the starting center in the 2010 playoffs, averaging 5.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. While the stat line doesn’t look as visually appealing, Perks fulfilled his duty by guarding the paint well.

In the Finals, he maintained similar numbers — 5.8 points and 5.8 rebounds — before suffering a right knee injury in Game 6, tearing his MCL and PCL.

His absence in Game 7 proved costly, as the Lakers outrebounded Boston 53-40. Los Angeles’ big men, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace, combined for 39 points — above their series average of 29.2 — helping the Lakers secure a four-point win in the championship decider.

Kendrick Perkins showers Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with Hall-of-Fame praise

Ahead of Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers, Kendrick Perkins gave Shai Gilgeous-Alexander his flowers.

Perkins took a moment to reflect and said the OKC guard was already an all-time great.

“Played with a lot of Hall of Famers… 10 years from now, I’m gonna say that I covered an all-time great in SGA. He’s already one of the greatest scorers to ever touch the damn basketball,” Perkins said.

Kendrick Perkins’ lofty praise came as a response to Gilgeous-Alexander's historic start to the series. The league MVP totaled 72 points across Games 1 and 2, the most ever by a player in his first two NBA Finals games.

Despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s valiant effort, averaging 32 points, six rebounds, and five assists per game, the Thunder find themselves trailing 2-1 in the series. Game 4 on Monday is a must-win for Oklahoma City, as they look to avoid further falling into a hole by going down 3-1.

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About the author

Advait Jajodia

Advait Jajodia is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with over four years of experience in the field with The SportsRush.

Advait has a love of basketball that stems from playing the game, and has represented Mumbai North at the Inter-District State Championship and Maharashtra at the ASISC National Games.

His favorite team is the New Orleans Pelicans, although Advait also has an affinity for the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. His favorite player of all time was Kobe Bryant, as the Lakers legend's undeniable talent and mentality were just unignorable. As for players in the current game, Stephen Curry, Zion Williamson, Victor Wembanyama, and Kyrie Irving are top of Advait's list.

When not watching or writing about sports, Advait is a fan of true crime shows, board games and console gaming.

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