The Los Angeles Lakers took care of business on Thursday night, securing their 16 title in franchise history by knocking off the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7.

It was a classic final game to say the least. Boston not only hung tough early on, but they had the lead for most of the game. However, in the fourth quarter L.A. flexed its muscle have prevailed on their home court.

The Celtics enjoyed a 13-point lead at one point, but it would not last.

Kobe Bryant was held down early in the game, but still managed to finish with 23 points on his way to earning a fifth title and the MVP award. Ron Artest added 20 points and was very much an x-factor.

Paul Pierce had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who just couldn't finish the final quarter of a remarkable playoff run after a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference.

For Phil Jackson, the win help him secure an 11th championship.

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The Boston Celtics put together the series’ first back-to-back winning efforts as they won Sunday versus the Los Angeles Lakers in Boston, 92-86.

Despite a 38-point effort from Kobe Bryant, the Celtics simply came up with the big buckets when they needed to. Paul Pierce led all Boston scorers with 27 points, by far his best game of the series. In addition, Kevin Garnett had a monster game with 18 points, 10 boards, five steals and a pair of blocks.

The Lakers’ advantage in this series from the very beginning has the play of their frontcourt, yet minus a stellar Game 1-effort L.A.’s big men are not getting it done.

Defense doomed the Lakers in this one as they seemingly couldn’t come up with stops when they need them most.

That said, Phil Jackson can’t feel too bad about only getting beat by six points. The series now heads back to L.A. for Game 6 on Tuesday and Game 7 on Thursday, if necessary.

Of the 25 finals that have been tied at 2-all, the winner of Game 5 has won 19 of them. Let’s not forget though that Jackson is 47-0 all-time in playoff series in which the team he coached won Game 1, as the Lakers did. Something has to give.

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The Los Angeles Lakers took care of business in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, disposing of the Boston Celtics at home 102-89.

The key to the game for the Lakers was its play in the frontcourt.  The three stats that tell the story in this one are simple – LA held a plus-12 rebounding advantage, outscored the Celtics by 18 in the paint and beat them 16-0 on second-chance points.

Pau Gasol was a man on a mission, finishing with 23 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. In contrast, Boston’s Kevin Garnett only mustered 16 points, four boards and one swat.

Oh yeah, Kobe Bryant was pretty good too as Ray Allen had no answer but to foul. Bryant finished with a 30-point night.

If watching game wasn’t enough to convince you that the Celtics are in trouble, the following stat should.  Phil Jackson-led teams have won 47 out of 47 series in which his team takes Game 1.  They might as well starting cutting down the nets now!

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It wasn't long ago that Kobe Bryant reportedly wanted out of Los Angeles. He's not going anywhere now.

Fresh off winning the championship, the Lakers guard decided not to exercise an early termination option on the last two years of his contract and will return for the 2009-10 season, a league source told ESPN.com's Chad Ford.

Bryant is scheduled to make $23 million next season by not opting out. He also has a player option to opt out of his contract in the 2010-11 season. The Lakers will work with Bryant over the summer and fall to hammer out a new, long-term extension, according to the source.

CONTINUE READING

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The Los Angeles Lakers laid claim to their 15th title in impressive fashion on Sunday night as they defeated the Orlando Magic 99-86 to win Game 5 and win the best-of-seven series with a 4-1 advantage.

Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and Pau Gasol added 14 and 15 rebounds to pace the Lakers' attack.

Bryant, who averaged 32.4 points and was named finals MVP. It marked his fourth title and first without Shaquile O'Neal.

Meanwhile, head coach Phil Jackson earned his 10th championship, passing legendary Boston coach Red Auerbach (9 titles) as the winningest coach in finals history.

Not that they didn't already have a great place in the history of the game, but clearly Bryant and Jackson have taken even another step to seperate themselves from the pack.

Overall, the NBA Playoffs this year were exciting and fun to watch. A strong case could be made about the length of the playoffs, but you can not deny the fact that the level of competition gets no better.

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The Orlando Magic have come so close to beinig up three games to one in the series, but two overtime losses have them on the opposite side of the ledger and now down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Derek Fisher sank a pair of clutch three-pointers, one to force overtime and another in the extra session that gave Los Angeles the lead for good, as the Lakers overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to take a commanding lead in the NBA Finals with a 99-91 triumph against Orlando.

Kobe Bryant led the way with 32 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as LA captured a hard-fought victory.

Dwight Howard was magnificent everywhere but at the free-throw line. Orlando's superman of a center had 16 points, 21 rebounds and a finals-record nine blocks. But he made just 6 of 14 foul shots, and it was his two crucial misses with 11.1 seconds to go in regulation that doomed the Magic.

Orlando missed 15 free throws.

The series resumes Sunday night with game five from Orlando.

FAST FACTS (from ESPN.com)
--The Lakers grabbed a 3-1 series lead and snapped a 7-game road losing streak in the NBA Finals.

--Derek Fisher missed his first five 3-pointers of the game, but made his final two to provide a huge boost for the Lakers. The first forced overtime with under five seconds remaining, and the second broke a tie with just over 30 seconds left in that extra period.

--The Magic fell to 0-2 this series when leading after the first quarter.

--Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 32 points and eight assists, his 63rd career 30-point playoff game (most among active players). He has recorded eight or more assists in six straight playoff games, becoming the second Laker (Magic Johnson) to accomplish the feat.

--It was the first time since 1984, when Magic Johnson's Lakers and Larry Bird's Celtics hooked up, that two games in a finals have gone to overtime.

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Game 3 of the NBA Finals was a must-win contest for the Orlando Magic, who entered the night down 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. They responded by pulling out a 108-104 victory at home.

Dwight Howard stepped up in a big way, delivering his best performance of the series. He recorded 21 points and 14 boards to pace the Magic.

Orlando, who has struggled offensively, shot 62.5% from the field in the victory, including a record 75% in the first half.

Rafer Alston scored 13 of his 20 points in the first half, Rashard Lewis chipped in with 21 points and Hedo Turkoglu finished with 18 points with seven assists and six rebounds.

Kobe Bryant didn't have his best game as he missed several shots and commit a key turnover down the stretch.  He started off hot, scoring 17 points in the final five-plus minutes of the first quarter, finishing with 31 points and eight assists.

The series resumes with Game 4 on Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. from Orlando.

FAST FACTS (ESPN.com)
--The Magic picked up their first NBA Finals win in franchise history, improving to 1-6 all-time.

--Orlando's 0-6 start in the Finals was the second longest in league history, surpassed only by the Baltimore Bullets, who dropped their first nine

--The Lakers tied an NBA record by losing their seventh straight Finals game on the road. The Fort Wayne Pistons lost seven straight from 1955-56.

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The Magic seemed to have woke up in time for game two, after their zombie-like performane in game one, but it still wasn't enough as Kobe and the Lakers won 101-96 in overtime in game two of the NBA finals.

It was as much Pau Gasol down the stretch as it was Bryant leading the Lakers. The L.A. center was 3-for-3 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and overtime. Gasol finished the game with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Maybe more importantly however, has been the way that Gasol has held his own inside against "Superman" Dwight Howard. Howard was held to just 17 points, and was double or tripled team nearly every time he touched the ball. 

Bryant didn't disappoint either though, as he finished the game with 29 points and eight assists.  

There has been a huge deal made about Bryant's quest to win a ring on his own... or at least without Shaq. While the latter part of that may be true, Bryant is certainly not winning these games alone. He is very clearly one of the most clutch performer's in the league, but what has been more impressive to me as the playoffs has gone on is the way he's learning to trust and use his teammates. Bryant is not winning this title on his own, nor should he be trying. He tried the solo route for a while after Shaq went to the Heat, and it netted him two first-round exits from the playoffs and a year where they didn't even qualify for the playoffs. 

Bryant is now learning what the best knew... Using your teammates and making them better doesn't take away from your legacy.

The series now heads to Orlando on Tuesday, and the Magic will be pulling out all the stops to try and come back to Los Angeles with the series tied at two games a piece. 

Fast Facts (from ESPN.com)

• The Lakers grabbed a 2-0 series lead and their fourth straight playoff win overall.

• In NBA history, when the home team wins the first two games of a best-of-seven series, they've gone on to win that series 94.2 percent of the time. Only three times in NBA Finals history has a team come back to win the series after losing the first two games (most recently the 2006 Heat).

• Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 29 points. Pau Gasol added 24 points and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double in his last 11 games.

• Rashard Lewis led the Magic with a playoff career-high 34 points (including 18 of the Magic's 20 second quarter points) to go with 10 rebounds and a playoff career-high seven assists. His point total marked the most ever by a Magic player in an NBA Finals game.

• Dwight Howard became just the second player in NBA playoff history to amass at least 15 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks in a playoff game. The other was Hakeem (Akeem at the time) Olajuwon in 1986.

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The NBA Finals kicked off on Thursday night and while the Lakers were heavy favorties not just to take Game 1, but to win yet another title, I didn't expect the dominating manner in which they would do it.

Orlando has been written off by most throughout the playoffs, but after knocking out the Cleveland LeBrons in the Eastern Confernece Finals to get to this series, a buzz had started to mount around the young team.

The Lakers set out to silence that buzz and set the tone for the series. Message delivered, message received.

Kobe Bryant turned out one of his best playoff performances of his career - 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists 

Phil Jackson's plan of attack on Dwight Howard worked. L.A. doubled and some cases tripled teamed him every time the dynamic big man touched the ball. The result an unimpressive 12 points for Howard and just one field goal (1 of 6) from the field.

The Magic couldn't take advantage with the outside open either as they went just 8-of-23 on 3s and shot only 30 percent overall.

Game 2 is set for Sunday night at the Staples Center. If the Lakers come out and have a repeat performance on Game 1, this series could be over before it started.

FAST FACTS (from ESPN.com)
--The Lakers snapped a two-game losing streak in opening games of the NBA Finals (lost Game 1 to the Celtics in 2008 and the Pistons in '04).

--The 25-point margin of victory is the sixth-largest in Game 1 Finals history and largest since the Bulls' 33-point win over the Trail Blazers in 1992.

--The Lakers have won 16 straight best-of-seven series when winning the opening game (second-longest such streak in NBA history).

--Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 40 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, marking his 10th career 40-point playoff game and first in the Finals.

--The Magic fell to 0-5 all-time in NBA Finals games and became the third franchise in NBA history to lose its first five Finals games.

--Dwight Howard was 1-for-6, his fewest field goals made in a playoff game in his career.

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Kobe is no LeBron? Turns out, that's right, because Kobe has never blown off an opponent handshake after losing a series, then blown off the media while forcing his teammates to clean up his mess.

Turns out, James was only a media puppet, while Kobe Bryant is the real thing, right now, his stage, his time, two weeks during which he could win the one award and one distinction that has eluded him.

Three rings, yet no Finals MVPs

Three rings, yet none without Shaq.

If you don't think his legacy depends on this, then you don't know the foreboding Los Angeles sports landscape, a place where you are either among the stars or the forgotten.

COMPLETE ARTICLE (LA Times)

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