Ariza Exercises Option To Stay with Lakers

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) -- Forward Trevor Ariza, acquired in a November trade with Orlando, has exercised his player contract option to remain with the Los Angeles Lakers.

He appeared in 24 games for the Lakers before breaking a bone in his right foot on Jan. 20. He missed the rest of the regular season and 11 playoff games before returning for Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

Ariza averaged 18 minutes a game in the regular season before being hurt, with averages of 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.08 steals. After he came back in the postseason, he set career playoff highs with six points and five rebounds in Game 4 of the NBA finals.

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Gallinari Ready for Pressure of Playing in New York

GREENBURGH, N.Y., June 27 (AP) -- Sure, New York will be tough. Danilo Gallinari believes he is ready, since there was plenty of pressure playing in Milan.

Especially since he wore the same number as a giant of Italian hoops - who now happens to be his coach.

Gallinari proved to be worthy of wearing Mike D'Antoni's No. 8 back home, and hopes to win over the fans that jeered him on draft night when he dons a Knicks jersey with the same number next season.

"I think it is two different worlds,'' the 19-year-old Gallinari said Friday at the Knicks' training center. "There is a lot of pressure in Milan and a lot of pressure in New York. So I'm going to different places, but same place.''

And not an easy one. Fans at the draft booed loudly when the Knicks took Gallinari on Thursday with the No. 6 pick, and that was nothing compared to what he'll hear if he doesn't produce right away next season.

"I think Danilo and I and Mike understand that he's going to have to answer all those questions by how he plays, and understand that he's a young player like all the other rookies and it'll be gradually better,'' Knicks president Donnie Walsh said.

Walsh said he got a strong recommendation from former coach Isiah Thomas after a European scouting trip, citing Gallinari's poise in crunch time at such a young age.

"Basically at the end of games, they gave him the ball and he made the plays,'' Walsh said. "For a guy that's that big, that's unusual.''

Playing under D'Antoni should help Gallinari adjust to the NBA. D'Antoni was a star player and championship-winning coach in Italy, where he was once a teammate of Gallinari's father, Vittorio. On the phone after the pick, D'Antoni began the conversation in what was still pretty good Italian, Danilo Gallinari said.

"He played so many years in Europe and Italy, so he knows where I am from, where I come from, and he's probably the right guy to help me, the right coach to help me,'' Gallinari said.

Gallinari doesn't know D'Antoni well, but certainly knows of him. And when he showed up in Milan as a teenager and asked for No. 8, Gallinari was constantly reminded that "Mike D'Antoni is a legend in Milan.''

"Some pressure about that,'' Gallinari said.

Unlike Kobe Bryant, who used to wear No. 8 in honor of D'Antoni, Gallinari's choice of the number had nothing to do with his new coach. He picked it for his birth date - Aug. 8, 1988.

The Knicks believe Gallinari will be a good fit in D'Antoni's system because of his outside shooting ability. Listed at 6-foot-8, though Walsh said he's closer to 6-10, Gallinari shot 40 percent from 3-point range last season for Armani Jeans of Milan, averaging 17.5 points in Italian A-1 League play.

D'Antoni's offense depends on having shooters at every position, and Walsh recognized the Knicks didn't. Perhaps when he bulks up, Gallinari can be used as a perimeter-shooting power forward, the way Shawn Marion was under D'Antoni in Phoenix, where he developed into an All-Star.

Gallinari and Walsh both said a doctor told them the forward could grow another inch, perhaps making him as big a threat on the interior as he is from the outside.

"And he's a very, very good shooter,'' Walsh said. "So I think the combination of being able to take it to the goal and then shoot from the outside, for a guy that big I think is going to be a pretty lethal combination once he gets the strength and all that.''

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Bryant Leads Lakers to Game 3 Win

L.A. Lakers 87, Boston 81 (F)

LOS ANGELES, June 10 (AP) -- Magic Johnson looked very nervous. Across the court, Jack Nicholson fidgeted with his sunglasses, Sylvester Stallone squirmed in his seat and nearly everyone else styling in shades of purple and gold was on edge.

The Los Angeles Lakers, kings of the Western Conference, were in real trouble, end-of-the-season kind of trouble.

Kobe Bryant pulled them out of it.

On his floor and on his game, Bryant revived the Lakers - and the NBA finals.

Bryant scored 36 points with an MVP-worthy performance, Sasha Vujacic added 20 points and the Lakers, teetering on the brink of falling into an impossible hole in the NBA finals, beat the Boston Celtics 87-81 in Game 3 on Tuesday night.

L.A.'s brightest sports star, Bryant was California cool.

"What I tried to do with my teammates is just stay calm,'' he said. "It wasn't the end of the world. They did a great job of defending home court. We knew we had to come here and do the same. They feed off of my confidence and I have all the confidence in the world that we can come here and win.''

A change of time zones, jerseys and attitude did wonders for the Lakers, who staggered home from Boston in an 0-2 hole and couldn't afford to fall any further behind in the first best-of-seven matchup between the league's marquee teams since 1987.

No team in NBA playoff history has ever overcome an 0-3 deficit.

Bryant made sure the Lakers won't have to.

And this time, the superstar got some help.

Vujacic, the self-proclaimed "Machine,'' made three 3-pointers, including a crucial one from the left corner with 1:53 left that gave the Lakers an 81-76 lead. Pau Gasol finally flexed his muscles with two inside baskets in the fourth quarter and Derek Fisher, who took an $8-million pay cut to come back and play for the Lakers, made two free throws with 1:33 remaining as the Lakers held on.

"We just wanted to play,'' said Bryant, whose only glaring flaw was an 11-of-18 night from the foul line. "I don't think anyone was feeling desperate.''

Game 4 is Thursday night at the Staples Center, where the Lakers are 9-0 in the playoffs and unbeaten in 15 games since March 28.

But it took everything they had to keep that streak alive as the Celtics, two wins from their 17th NBA title but only 2-8 on the road in this postseason, made the Lakers play a more physical, Eastern Conference-style game and nearly walked away with a win.

Ray Allen scored 25 points - 15 on 3-pointers - for the Celtics, but only one-third of Boston's Big Three showed up.

Kevin Garnett scored 13 points on just 6-of-21 shooting and Paul Pierce, playing a short drive from his childhood home, had only six points, missed 12 shots and was in foul trouble all night.

"As bad as we played, we still had opportunities,'' Allen said. "That's the positive. We can look at it, but I don't think on either side of the floor we were good. We had so much more room for improvement.''

The Celtics enjoyed a huge disparity from the line in Game 2, shooting 38 free throws to 10 for the Lakers.

But the whistles were more well-balanced as Los Angeles took 34 free throws to Boston's 22.

After Garnett's dunk brought the Celtics within 83-78 with 1:28 to go, Bryant made sure that it was he who took L.A.'s next shot. He drove on Allen to get some space, pulled up and drilled the kind of jumper he has practiced tens of thousands of times.

Eddie House, who gave Boston big minutes when Rajon Rondo went out with an injury, countered with a 3-pointer, and suddenly the Lakers' glitzy crowd, which included Nicholson in his familiar courtside seat, grew uneasy.

But Bryant calmed their twitching nerves quickly.

On the Lakers' next possession, Bryant, whose shot wouldn't drop in Boston, backed down in the lane and dropped in a short jumper to make it 87-81.

House missed for Boston, both teams committed silly offensive fouls in the closing seconds, and when the final horn sounded, the Lakers could finally relax.

Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson knew whom to credit for the win.

"I think undoubtedly it's the leadership of Kobe Bryant,'' he said. "He was aggressive right from the start, put the defense on its heels.''

Los Angeles is trying to become the fourth team to come back from an 0-2 deficit, and with two more games at home, they've got a chance to turn this renewed rivalry around.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers figured Bryant would take over the series at some point, but he didn't expect Vujacic, who scored a combined 16 points in Games 1 and 2, to be such a factor.

"Kobe was fantastic but I thought Vujacic was the key to the game,'' he said. "I said before we are going to have to win a game when Kobe Bryant plays well. We know that. But when that happens, we have to shut off the other avenues.''

This game won't be remembered as one of the better ones in the storied Lakers-Celtics rivalry, but it did have a few moments of the physical nastiness that defined their matchups during the 1980s.

"It was not a beautiful ballgame,'' Jackson said. "That's a transition game from East Coast to West Coast. But we'll have a day to catch up tomorrow and hopefully both of us will play better basketball on Thursday night.''

With the Lakers down two and running out of time in the fourth, Bryant took a pass from Luke Walton at the top of the key. Knowing he was about to try a shot that could have lasting importance, Bryant gathered himself, measured the rim and let fly with a 3-pointer that gave Los Angeles a 69-68 lead with 6:55 left.

Fisher made two free throws and Bryant, who had missed seven from the line, knocked down two more foul shots as the Lakers went up 73-68.

Pierce grew up in Inglewood, Calif., where he learned to play in the shadow of the Fabulous Forum, the Lakers' former home where Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and "Showtime'' had an extended run of championship seasons.

But Pierce's finals homecoming was homely.

The Celtics' star forward, who came in averaging 25 points in the series, went just 2-for-14 and missed all four 3-pointers.

Despite his struggles, the Celtics were only down six early in the third quarter when Rondo went down with a sprained left ankle. As he laid on the floor, his teammates rushed over to check on Rondo, who limped off the court without aid - or a wheelchair - like Pierce famously needed after hurting his knee in the opener.

House, who hadn't played a minute in the series, replaced Rondo and drilled a 3-pointer and Garnett scored underneath before finally making a jumper as Boston took a 51-49 lead. Moments later, Allen stuck a 3-pointer that sent Boston's bench bounding onto the floor when the Lakers had to call a timeout.

The Lakers didn't have to endure the deafening chants of "Beat L.A.'' Instead, they warmed up to Randy Newman's "I Love L.A'' and Los Angeles fans screamed "Boston (Stinks)'' every chance they could.

Notes: Informed that Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who sat courtside and within a few feet of the Lakers bench in Game 2, blogged about Bryant criticizing his teammates, Jackson said he wished fans were further back. "I've been against that for as long as I've been coaching,'' he said. "Those people don't belong there, somebody is going to get hurt. But that becomes part of what the NBA is about, being close to the action and close to the scene. We have to suffer the consequences because of it.'' ... American Idol winner David Cook sang the national anthem.

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Banner 17: Celtics Add to Record Championship Haul

BOSTON, June 18 (AP) -- When the Boston Celtics built a new practice facility, they surrounded the court with their 16 NBA championship banners and left a blank space for No. 17.

The message was a bit too subtle for Doc Rivers.

The Celtics coach turned a spotlight on the empty spot on the wall at the beginning of this season so there would be no doubt about the team's goal.

"They can turn that thing off now,'' guard Ray Allen said early Wednesday morning, his left eye still red from the first-half face-raking and the postgame champagne spraying that accompanied Boston's title-clinching, 131-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Allen returned to the floor after getting poked in the eye and scored 26 points, including an NBA record-tying seven 3-pointers, Kevin Garnett had 26 points with 14 rebounds and Finals MVP Paul Pierce scored 17 with 10 assists on Tuesday night as the Celtics smoked the Lakers like one of Red Auerbach's legendary victory cigars.

A year after winning just 24 games, then drawing bad luck in the draft lottery, the Celtics completed the most dramatic turnaround in NBA history with a Game 6 blowout that was equally impressive.

It was the 17th title for the league's most-decorated franchise, but it was the first for Pierce, Garnett and Allen; for Rivers, after nine full seasons as a coach and 13 as a player; and for the owners who named their group Banner 17 when they took over in 2002 and now have to consider whether they set their sights too low.

"If I changed it I would change it to Banner 20 to set the right tone,'' owner Wyc Grousbeck said in an e-mail on Wednesday. "But Red always said the first one was his favorite, and in honor of our first one we are going to stay with Banner 17.''

It was also the first title for Celtics general manager Danny Ainge also since hanging up his sneakers and putting on a suit.

"I just feel happy for the players,'' said Ainge, who won twice as a Celtics player in the 1980s. "They put so much time and hard work into it.''

So did Ainge.

His was an oddly timed hire, in the middle of the 2003 playoffs, and he immediately concluded that the team competing for a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals wasn't good enough to go much further. He began dismantling the roster, acquiring draft picks, prospects and expiring contracts without apparent regard to how they would fit together.

The Celtics did what they could last season to improve their chances in the draft lottery, but they landed the worst-case fifth pick in a two-star draft. Unable to convince Garnett to come to a struggling team, Ainge traded the No. 5 pick for Allen.

Suddenly, the Celtics' prospects look a whole lot better to Garnett.

After signing him to a contract extension that would keep him in Boston through 2012 -- there was no deal without the extension - Ainge made an unprecedented 7-for-1 trade with Minnesota GM Kevin McHale to complete the new Big Three that won it all in its firs try.

"It's a team that's easy to fall in love with,'' Ainge said after the celebration. "They have a lot of guys who are real caring people, that care for one another genuinely. They play together and play hard and I'm glad to be a part of it.''

Ainge and Rivers have all five starters signed for two more seasons, and all but Allen are in the fold for 2010-11. Sixth man James Posey is the key free agent, though midseason acquisitions P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell are also unsigned for next year.

The bigger question is whether the Big Three, so hungry after a decade of watching other teams celebrate, can come back and do it again.

The original Big Three of Larry Bird, Robert Parish and McHale -- the same McHale who handed Garnett to his former teammate -- won three times in the 1980s, reaching the finals four years in a row from 1984-87, but never repeated.

"I know what it means to win a championship as a Celtic, and the place championships hold in the history of the franchise,'' Bird, now an executive with the Indiana Pacers, said Wednesday. "I'm also pleased for Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers and his staff, knowing where they were last year and then making the decisions to put them in position to win the team's 17th title.''

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Kobe: "It Ain't Over"

LOS ANGELES, June 14 (AP) -- With the same purpose as one of his in-your-face jumpers, Kobe Bryant leaned into the microphone.

He promised more NBA finals games to come.

"The series ain't over,'' he said. "It's far from over.''

Faced with long odds, Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers returned to the practice floor Saturday for the first time since Game 4, when the Boston Celtics stormed back from a 24-point deficit to win and take a 3-1 lead in this reborn rivalry.

The Lakers have run out of time and tomorrows. It's either win Game 5 on Sunday or pack away the sneakers for summer.

No team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in the finals, and even if the Lakers can stave off elimination and win at Staples Center, they'll have to play Games 6 and 7 in Boston, where the Celtics are 12-1 this postseason. Since the league switched to the much-debated 2-3-2 format in 1985, no team has won the last two games on the road.

Their climb is a steep one, and if the Lakers have any chance of mounting a comeback, Bryant, the league's MVP and the game's most transcendent player, most criticized personality and most unstoppable force, must be the one to lead them.

If he's feeling any pressure, Bryant isn't showing it.

The Black Mamba is as cold-blooded as ever.

Bryant was relaxed and jovial during a news conference at the club's practice facility in El Segundo. The three-time champion, whose every gesture and facial expression made toward teammates gets overanalyzed, cracked jokes during a 10-minute session with the media.

Bryant insists the Lakers have moved on since their Game 4 collapse. There's no time to dwell on what happened, all that counts now is what happens next.

"We've got to take care of business on Sunday,'' said Bryant, who spent much of the past two days relaxing at home with his family. "So what are we going to do? How am I going to get my teammates in the right frame of mind, make sure they're energetic, and that's what it's been all about.''

Bryant said he spent much of the past two days reading a Harry Potter book to his daughters.

"It was awesome,'' he said. "He had more problems dealing with Voldemort than what we have dealing with the media and the Celtics.''

Boston is one win from its 17th NBA title and first in 22 years, but the Celtics are wary of Bryant. They've done a decent job of containing him through four games - his only breakout was a 36-point performance in Game 3 - but they know Bryant can single-handedly beat them if their not careful.

"We're up 3-1 and we know we have a lot of basketball to play because Kobe is on that team,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "He's the scariest player in the NBA in a lot of ways, so you're fearful of him all the time. A respectful fear.''

Bryant didn't score from the field in the first half of Game 4, which the Lakers led by 18 at halftime and by 20 with 6 minutes to go in the third quarter. In the second half, Paul Pierce asked to guard Bryant, a defensive switch that allowed Ray Allen to get his offense going and have his best game of the series.

Pierce's size seemed to bother Bryant, and with none of the other Lakers able to carry the scoring load, Bryant tried to take over down the stretch but couldn't.

"I reached into the hat and couldn't pull the rabbit out,'' he said.

Allen will likely start on Bryant in Game 5, but Rivers plans to throw different defensive looks at the superstar.

"One guy will not guard Kobe Bryant,'' he said. "It's just too hard. It's too much work, and it takes all the energy out of that one guy.''

Rivers respects Bryant, the player. He respects Bryant, the person, too.

But for all the 29-year-old's brilliance, his 10 All-Star game appearances, two scoring titles and ability to do things on the court that others can only dream of, Bryant can't seem to win over his critics. He hasn't helped his image by demanding to be traded last summer, and there is a segment of fans who have never warmed up to him following his arrest five years ago in Colorado on rape charges.

And then there's his behavior on the court. Bryant is tough on his teammates, some say too tough. If one of the Lakers doesn't perform up to Bryant's expectations, he'll let them know about it with a few well-chosen words, a what-was-that? shoulder shrug or glare.

He's demanding and driven, not unlike Michael Jordan, the player with whom Bryant is so often - fairly or unfairly - compared.

One man has a unique perspective on the two icons. Phil Jackson coached them both.

The Lakers head honcho, who has won nine NBA titles, said it takes some thick skin to be able to handle a teammate constantly pushing you to do better. But he has no problem with Bryant's penchant to require perfection from those around him.

"That's an energy that a lot of players can't stand up to, but we try to find players that can,'' he said. "It's very challenging and I think it's very aggressive and I think it's good. Having lived with it for a period of time with two different types of players, I can endorse it.''

Part of the Lakers' success, Bryant feels, is that they are brutally honest with each other. He believes his teammates can handle his heat, and don't take his prodding personally.

"Our relationship is great,'' he said. "I think people pay attention to it a lot more than you do when you lose than when you win. When you win it's great leadership. When you lose, it's ... you're a tyrant. You've got to take it and roll with it.''

Derek Fisher was Bryant's teammate for eight seasons before spending two with Golden State and one with Utah. He re-signed with Los Angeles as a free agent last summer. On the eve of what could be the Lakers' final game of 2008, Fisher was asked if Bryant was a better teammate than before he left.

"Wow,'' Fisher said, laughing. "Sounds like everybody is getting their what-happens-if-we-lose stories together, huh? A lot of Kobe questions.''

In Fisher's eyes, Bryant has grown into a committed team leader and credits his off-the-floor maturity as a father as the primary reason.

"I just think that he's gotten older, he's in the 30 club almost now,'' Fisher said. "I just think he has a great understanding of who he is and what it takes to be the best.''

And starting with Game 5, the Lakers need Bryant to be better than ever.

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Nets Extend Qualifying Offer to Nenad Krstic

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., June 27 (AP) -- The New Jersey Nets extended a qualifying offer to restricted free agent center Nenad Krstic on Friday, allowing them to match any contract proposal from another team.

Krstic had major knee surgery during the 2006-07 season. The injury limited him to 45 games last season, when he averaged 6.6 points and 4.4 rebounds.

Krstic was the Nets' first-round selection in the 2002 draft. He joined the Nets in 2004 and has averaged 11.3 points and 5.7 rebounds over the past four seasons.

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Boston 108, L.A. Lakers 102

BOSTON, June 8 (AP) -- Banner No. 17 is halfway to the rafters. The Celtics are two wins from another NBA championship.

And maybe a little lucky to be there.

Paul Pierce, darting around the parquet floor with ease, scored 28 points, Boston's defense mobbed Kobe Bryant long enough and unknown Leon Powe scored 21 points as the Celtics held off a remarkable Los Angeles rally for a 108-102 win over the Lakers on Sunday night. The Celtics have a 2-0 lead in these trip-down-memory-lane NBA finals.

The Celtics had to work every second to get the win.

The Lakers trailed by 24 with less than 8 minutes to go, but pulled to 104-102 on two free throws by Bryant with 38.4 seconds left. But Pierce made two free throws, then blocked a jumper by Sasha Vujacic, and James Posey made two free throws with 12.6 seconds left to ice it for Boston.

"I think we got kind of complacent with the lead,'' Pierce said. "We weren't staying aggressive. We let them pick up their pressure. We stopped guarding. We got to take a lesson from this fourth quarter to keep playing regardless of the score and finish the game.''

Boston was 27-for-38 from the line, while the Lakers were 10-for-10.

Pierce wasn't slowed by a sprained right knee suffered in the series opener, when he was carried from the court and plopped into a wheelchair. The Boston captain paced the Celtics, who are back in the finals for the first since 1987, when Larry Bird was the main man and gasoline cost 91 cents per gallon.

As usual, Boston's Big Three -- Pierce, Ray Allen (17 points) and Kevin Garnett (17) -- were the ringleaders but Powe, a second-year reserve had the game of his career, adding his 21 points in 15 minutes that may make him a Celtics fan-favorite for life.

Powe, who played a total of 68 seconds during one stretch of 13 games during the season, scored six points to close a 15-2 run ending the third quarter that gave the Celtics a 22-point lead, a burst had the Lakers California dreaming. At one point in the fourth quarter, Boston fans discarded the familiar chants of "Beat L.A.'' for cries of "Le-on Powe!''

Rajon Rondo had 16 assists and Garnett added 14 rebounds for the Celtics, back in the finals for the first time since 1987.

Game 3 is Tuesday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where the Lakers are 8-0 in the postseason and have won 14 in a row at home since March 28. Bryant had better hope the rims there are a little kinder than the ones in TD Banknorth Garden.

"We knew we had to get this win this was a big win going out West,'' Pierce said. "Our mind-set is to get Game 3 and try take away their confidence and win this series in L.A.. We knew it was going to be tough, but nobody said it was going to be easy.''

Bryant, who pledged to bounce back from a sub-par Game 1, scored 30 points -- 13 in the fourth -- on 11-of-23 shooting. In four losses to Boston this season, Bryant is just 35-of-93 from the field and can't seem to get the same easy looks he enjoys against every other team.

Pau Gasol had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who were down 95-71 with 7:55 when they mounted a comeback that fell just short.

Bryant's 3-pointer made it 102-91 and then the self-proclaimed "Black Mamba'' slithered down the lane for two quick baskets that got the Lakers, who scored 41 points in the final 12 minutes, within 104-95. The Celtics, meanwhile, began to stand around on offense, thinking the game was in hand.

It was anything but.

After Vujacic hit a 3-pointer, Vladimir Radmanovic made a steal and dunk to make it 104-100 and Celtics fans, who had been dancing moments earlier, began to panic. None of Boston's players seemed to want the ball as it moved around like a hot potato before Rondo missed a jumper with 44 seconds left.

Bryant's free throws brought Los Angeles to 104-102 before Pierce slashed down the lane and got fouled by Derek Fisher. As a few of his teammates locked arms on the bench like a college team trying to advance in March, Pierce knocked down both foul shots. Then, on defense, he got just enough of Vujacic's shot from the left wing with 14 seconds left.

Posey was fouled on the play and calmly made his two free throws. The Lakers rushed the ball down but missed on a couple jumpers, and when the final horn sounded, a collective sigh of relief rushed through the exits as the Celtics and their fans left the building confident, if not shaken.

Called "unstoppable'' by Lakers coach Phil Jackson, Bryant got off to another slow start. He missed his first two shots, one an uncontested layup underneath and was unable to get the looks he wanted as the Celtics followed the MVP around like a pack of hungry wolves on the hunt.

Bryant was just 1-of-4 from the floor when he was called for pushing off on Allen -- his second personal foul -- and spent the final 1:59 of the opening period a few seats away from Jackson. Soon, Bryant was joined by Lamar Odom and Jackson was forced to give his reserves extended early minutes.

They weren't good ones.

The Lakers' heralded bench bunch struggled, and the Celtics took advantage. Trailing by two after one, Boston opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run, capped by Pierce's 3-pointer. As bad as Los Angeles was playing, the Lakers hung around and closed within 41-37 on Gasol's three-point play.

But Pierce knocked down another 3, Allen followed with one of his own and the Celtics closed the half with a 13-5 burst to open a 54-42 halftime lead.

Notes: Jackson, a renowned world traveler who often reviews trips to his destinations, was asked for an overview of his extended stay in Boston, where the weather this week ranged from chilly, October-like conditions to sweltering heat. "It's very green,'' Jackson deadpanned, drawing laughter at the reference to the Celtics' primary colors. "Boston Commons, the Public Gardens. Very green.'' ... Among the celebrities in attendance: Boston Red Sox Curt Schilling -- wearing a Larry Bird jersey, Jon Lester and Josh Beckett, NFL quarterbacks Donovan McNabb and Vince Young and actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Lester, a cancer survivor who recently pitched a no-hitter, was honored during a timeout in the second quarter.

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LOS ANGELES, June 11 (AP) -- Maybe the NBA finals should book an appointment with one of Southern California's finest plastic surgeons.

After a shabby, sluggish Game 3, featuring enough air balls and air-headed plays for seven games, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers could use a few nips, tucks and lifts. Another good night's sleep or afternoon nap might help, too.

"It wasn't the prettiest game,'' said Celtics center Kevin Garnett, who missed two dunks and seems to have left his shooting touch back in May.

For two franchises that have combined for 30 titles won by a Who's Who of Hall of Fame hoopsters, it was indeed a night to forget.

But playing in front of Jack, Denzel, Hef and the rest of their celebrity-laden crowd in Staples Center, where they're 9-0 in the postseason and perfect over the past two months, the Lakers, despite missing 13 free throws, pulled within 2-1 in the reborn rivalry series with an 87-81 victory Tuesday night.

Boston, for its many warts, which included a 35 percent shooting performance, still had a chance win.

As the teams practiced for Thursday night's Game 4, several players blamed the six-hour flight from Boston to Los Angeles for the sloppiness.

"I think most of the players out there struggled physically,'' Lakers center Pau Gasol said. "You could tell the travel and Game 2 and 3 being so tight together, going across the country pretty much is an overseas trip. It was like going back to Spain. I think that was a factor.''

Celtics coach Doc Rivers, too, noticed players may have been feeling the affects of jet lag and fighting fatigue.

"This was the first game that I had four or five different players during the game signal to pull them out,'' he said. "I had to blow a timeout, one that I didn't want to use late. I thought it was a very tough turnaround and I think rest is very important.''

One guy seems refreshed. Kobe Bryant soared as usual.

The Lakers' superstar scored 36 points, and showing why he's the league's MVP, did what he had to do to get his team back into the finals. Bryant went 12-of-20 from the floor, dropping jumpers, hanging in the air to sink floaters and drawing double teams to set up his teammates.

However, only one of them - Sasha Vujacic - matched Bryant's production. The 24-year-old came off the bench and scored a career-high 20 points, but "The Machine,'' as he dubbed himself, was the only Lakers player besides Bryant to rise to the occasion in the must-est of must-win games.

Los Angeles' other four starters - Gasol, Vladimir Radmanovic, Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher - combined for 22 points on 7-of-28 shooting. For the second straight game, Odom was plagued with foul trouble, which forced Lakers coach Phil Jackson to distribute the forward's minutes to others.

"I have to stay aggressive,'' Odom said, "but it's hard to when you're not out on the floor.''

The Celtics have their own problems, like getting Garnett going and hoping that Paul Pierce, who had a horrid homecoming in Game 2, doesn't choke under the pressure of playing in front of folks from his neighborhood in nearby Inglewood.

There's also the playing status of point guard Rajon Rondo, who injured his left ankle early in the second half of Game 3 and was kept out of practice on Wednesday.

Rivers said if the speedy Rondo is slowed by the injury that backups Eddie House and Sam Cassell would see more time. Rivers also may use Tony Allen, who hasn't played in the series but did a solid job of guarding Bryant during Boston's two wins over Los Angeles during the regular season.

Cassell is one of the few Celtics with championship experience. He won two championship rings with the Houston Rockets and has been trying to tell his teammates to relax and not be overwhelmed by the enormity of the finals.

"It's the same game, it's just a bigger stage,'' Cassell said. "You're not at your high school auditorium any more. This is Carnegie Hall.''

And so far in the series, Garnett hasn't appeared ready for it.

The Celtics' inspirational leader has displayed his usual intensity and has been his customary force on the boards. But he's just 22-of-62 (36 percent) and missed 15 shots in Game 2. Without Garnett as an offensive threat, the Celtics have to count on Pierce and Ray Allen to carry the scoring load.

"We've got to get Kevin going, clearly,'' Rivers said. "He's shooting below 40 in the series, and that's something he doesn't do. Paul, I honestly never worry about a lot offensively. He's a great offensive player. He had a tough night, and he'll get it going.''

Pierce admitted feeling nervous in his return to L.A., and his stats line: 2-for-14 from the field, 0-for-4 on 3-pointers, six points in 32 minutes, reflected it. He said he wasn't bothered by the sprain knee he suffered in Game 1, but the strain of being home may have been too much.

"I was probably a little more anxious than normal being that I'm at home in front of more family and more friends,'' he said. "I've got to block that out and go out there and leave it on the court. I've done it in the past, I've been out there and played and played well, and it's time for me to do it again.''

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Celtics Storm Back, Take 3-1 Lead

Boston 97, Los Angeles 91 (F)

LOS ANGELES, June 12 (AP) -- This was how the Boston Celtics of yesteryear - Cous and Russell and Bird and Hondo and the Chief - would do it. Digging deep, they fought for every loose ball, scrapping with grit and guts, champions clad in green.

These Celtics are no different.

And they are just one win from another NBA title.

"Yeah,'' Kevin Garnett said. "I can taste it.''

In their comeback season, Boston saved its biggest one of all for the finals.

The Celtics rallied from a 24-point deficit and beat the Los Angeles Lakers 97-91 on Thursday night to take a commanding 3-1 lead in this history-rich series and move within one victory of a 17th championship that seemed impossible a year ago.

"I don't want to get overjoyed,'' Paul Pierce said. "I want to go out there to try and win Game 5 on Father's Day and then I'll be able to breathe. Right now, I'm waiting to exhale.''

He's not alone.

A rivalry between the league's two most storied franchises - with some of the game's biggest names and biggest moments - now has a rally for the ages.

No team had ever overcome more than a 15-point deficit after the first quarter, and Elias Sports Bureau said it was the largest comeback in the finals since 1971. One thing's for sure, it will forever be remembered in the annals of Celtics-Lakers lore.

When the final horn sounded, Pierce, an L.A. kid playing in front of family and friends, doubled over in exhaustion and exuberance. The Celtics, the team he stuck with through 10 years, including a 24-win season in 2006-07, had done the impossible.

"It's definitely a great win, one that you're going to put up there in the library and break back out one day for your kids to watch,'' Pierce said. "But I want nothing more than that ring right now.''

Pierce scored 20 points, Garnett had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Ray Allen had 19 points, two coming on a marvelous reverse layup in the fourth as Boston's Big Three, thrown together last summer by general manager Danny Ainge to revive a franchise accustomed to hanging banners from the rafters, put the Lakers on the brink of a summer vacation.

It took an epic comeback to do it, and now the Celtics can reclaim their place atop pro basketball with a win in Game 5 on Sunday night in Los Angeles.

No team has ever recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the finals.

Kobe Bryant scored 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting but the league's MVP couldn't rescue the Lakers when they needed him most. Lamar Odom had 19 points - 15 in the first half - and Pau Gasol, whose addition in a midseason trade was supposed to give the Lakers their final piece to complement Bryant, had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Trailing by 18 points at halftime and seemingly done when they fell behind by 20 with 6:04 left in the third quarter, the Celtics outscored the Lakers 31-15 in the third quarter to pull within 73-71 going into the fourth.

The remarkable rally was reminiscent of what Los Angeles did in Game 2, when the Lakers trimmed a 24-point deficit to two in the fourth quarter before the Celtics regrouped to open a 2-0 lead. But Boston had another 12 minutes to finish off theirs, and the green-and-white did.

"Some turnaround in that game. The air went out of the building,'' said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who was asked what he told his club afterward. "Well, it's not over. This is not over. The series is not over.''

Boston's comeback included a 21-3 run over the final five minutes, fueled by two 3-pointers from Eddie House, who was getting more playing time because of Rajon Rondo's tender left ankle. The Celtics were still down by double digits with 2 minutes left in the third but closed the quarter with a 10-1 run, capped by P.J. Brown's dunk - a slam that could be felt all the way back to Boston's North End.

The Celtics finally caught the Lakers at 73-all on Leon Powe's jumper in the lane with 9:05 remaining, tying the score for the first time since it was 2-2 in the first minute.

At that point, the Lakers looked lost, confused, you name it. And when House hit an 18-foot jumper with 4:07 remaining, the Celtics had their first lead, 84-83. Boston's bench erupted, Lakers fans gasped and it was just a matter of time before they were heading out of Staples Center wondering what went wrong.

Allen, one of the game's purest shooters, then drove to the basket and made a reverse layup as dramatic as the Celtics' comeback.

"It was huge,'' Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "It was really supposed to be a middle pick-and-roll with Kevin and Ray, and Ray waved Kevin off because he liked the matchup that he had already, so he didn't want to bring another defender in to help. It was a great call by Ray. The layup was just tremendous.''

Bryant, who except for a 36-point performance in Game 3 has been an ordinary superstar in his try for a fourth championship ring, didn't score in the first half. He tried to rally the Lakers and got them within 89-87 with one of his patented twisting layups. But James Posey drilled a 3-pointer for Boston to make it 92-87 with 1:13 left. Derek Fisher's long jumper got the Lakers within three.

But Pierce was fouled and made two free throws, forcing Jackson to call a timeout with 47 seconds to go. As the Lakers headed toward their bench, Pierce pumped his fists, flexed his muscles and let out a yell.

At the other end of the court, Bryant hung his head.

"They were determined not to let me beat them tonight,'' he said. "I saw three, four bodies every time I touched the ball.''

Surrounded by Hollywood stars on their own back lot sound stage, the Lakers were seeking their 10th straight win at home in the postseason and were about to drop the "if necessary'' tag from Game 6. Now, they have to hope they can force the series back to Boston.

For the third time in this series, commissioner David Stern met with the media before the game. It was an unusual step for the league's long-tenured leader, who went on the offensive to defend the integrity of NBA officials under fire in the Tim Donaghy scandal.

Maybe the next investigation should focus on what happened to the Celtics in the first quarter.

L.A's crowd, notorious for arriving late, leaving early and spending more time text messaging and talking on cell phones than clapping, was much more involved than in Game 3. They roared when Lakers Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar presented the game ball to officials and were on their feet when Los Angeles blasted to a 16-6 lead.

By then, Odom had scored eight points, doubling his total from Game 3 and the enigmatic forward finished the first quarter having made all six field goal attempts and scoring 13 points. Moments later, Garnett went out with his second personal, and with the NBA's best defender on the bench, the Lakers ran wild.

Odom made consecutive jumpers from the top of the key to put Los Angeles ahead 26-7. The Lakers eventually pushed their lead to 45-21 when Sasha Vujacic, whose 20 points sparked his team in Game 3, nailed a 3-pointer and it was the Boston Massacre, West Coast style.

But the Celtics wouldn't quit.

"Once we got the lead, obviously, we were thrilled to death,'' Rivers said. "As far as we were down, nothing was going right for us, and we just hung in there.''

Notes: Some of Hollywood's brightest stars glimmered, including the usuals: Jack Nicholson, Denzel Washington and Dyan Cannon. They were joined by former NFL star Jerry Rice, actress Jennifer Garner with husband Ben Affleck, singer Justin Timberlake and Arizona quarterback Matt Leinart. ... The Celtics and Lakers finished with the best records in their respective conferences. It's the first time teams with the top marks have met in the finals since Indiana and Los Angeles in 2000. The last team to have the league's top record and win the title was San Antonio in 2003. ... Two hours before tipoff, two seats in the lower bowl were going for $3,500 apiece through an on-line ticket brokerage.

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Wizards' Arenas Opts Out of Final Year of Contract

WASHINGTON, June 9 (AP) -- Gilbert Arenas lived up to his word and opted out of the final year of his contract, the Washington Wizards said Monday.

The move had been long expected. Arenas has repeatedly said he would forgo the final year of his six-year, $65 million deal so that he could re-sign with the team for an even larger amount.

Arenas can begin negotiating with any team on July 1. While he has expressed a desire to remain with the Wizards, he has also said he won't return unless the team also re-signs Antawn Jamison, who is also set to become a free agent.

Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld has said he wants to re-sign both Arenas and Jamison.

Arenas, a three-time All-Star, missed most of last season after two operations on his left knee. He has averaged 22.8 points, 5.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds in his seven-season NBA career.

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Ginobili Expects to be OK for Beijing

SAN ANTONIO, June 1 (AP) -- Spurs star Manu Ginobili expects his injured ankle to be healed for the Beijing Olympics, allowing him to play for defending champion Argentina.

"It's something that I am looking forward to,'' he said Saturday.

Practices don't begin until early July, meaning Ginobili will have more than a month for his ankle recover. The Olympics are Aug. 8-24.

"Yesterday I got an injection to get the swelling off of the joint, and they told me that in a week, 10 days I'll be totally fine,'' Ginobili said. "So I trust them and I think I'm going to be perfectly healed.''

Ginobili hurt his left ankle early in the playoffs and it hampered him in the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. After averaging 18.2 and 21.3 points in the first two series against Phoenix and New Orleans, Ginobili's output fell to 12.6 points.

The Spurs, the defending champions, were ousted by the Lakers in Game 5 on Thursday night.

Ginobili, winner of the Sixth Man Award, was the Spurs' leading scorer during the regular season, averaging 19.5 points.

"He's got to heal and he's going to have that time,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We started that process today with Manu and he'll be off of his ankle for the next four to five weeks. Obviously we couldn't do that during the playoffs - would have been great if we could have.''

Popovich expects the smooth-shooting guard to play for the Argentine team.

"And that's probably a good thing because these guys play in the summertime anyway and the more organized you can be, probably the less chance you have of getting an injury,'' he said.

Argentina beat Italy 84-69 in 2004 in Athens for the gold. Ginobili had 16 points and six assists in that game. Ginobili sat out last summer's qualifying tournament in which Argentina lost to the United States in the gold-medal game.

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Fight Against Cancer Inspires Tisdale's 'Rebound'

OKLAHOMA CITY, June 13 (AP) -- Wayman Tisdale's newest CD starts with a chuckle and a proclamation: "When life tries to get you down, it's the perfect time for a rebound. It's my turn.''

Tisdale knows all about rebounding - and scoring, for that matter - from a 12-year career in the NBA that followed three record-setting seasons at Oklahoma.

His latest work, though, has little to do with basketball. "Rebound'' is inspired by Tisdale's ongoing fight against the bone cancer that was discovered last year in his right knee when he broke his leg at his Los Angeles home.

The journey from the diagnosis to recovery is evident in the jazz guitarist's new album, which starts with the title track and ends with "Grateful,'' which he says is inspired by the cancer's early discovery and how that increased his chances for survival.

"Nothing can change me,'' Tisdale said. "You go through things. You don't change because things come in your life. You get better because things come in your life.''

Tisdale has progressed far enough after an eight-hour knee replacement surgery that he's been able to resume touring. He'll hit both coasts and visit Japan before performing on a jazz cruise in January. He's also working on an autobiography, titled "Facing the Music,'' that he hopes to publish next year.

And when he's not working on his music, he's enjoying his first granddaughter - 1-year-old Bailey.

"I feel better than ever. I'm excited. I've got a whole new look on life. I look at life on a whole 'nother radar,'' said Tisdale, who's still undergoing chemotherapy.

Tisdale wouldn't give clearance for his doctors to talk about his prognosis. According to statistics from the National Cancer Institute, about 63 percent of people diagnosed with bone cancer live at least 10 more years.

On the jacket to his new CD, Tisdale gives thanks to all those who helped him get through his tough times and says "the hardest part of this ordeal was when my music stopped and when I was unable to perform.''

But out of that trauma came what Tisdale called "probably some of my best work yet,'' combining his usual "urban funk jazz'' sound with what he believes is his strongest songwriting.

"It made me dig deeper, dig and find some new ground,'' he said.

Tisdale gained fame in the early 1980s, setting the Sooners' career scoring and rebounding records before getting drafted second overall by the Indiana Pacers in 1985. He went on to average 15.3 points in the NBA with the Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns before focusing on his music career.

Several of his albums have made the top 10 on the Billboard charts and his last album of new music - "Way Up!'' - spent four weeks as the No. 1 Contemporary Jazz album after debuting in July 2006.

Eight albums in, Tisdale doesn't think his music career has much to do with his basketball playing days.

"It's so diverse. It's so different,'' he said. "You can't make people buy your music if they don't like it.''

"Rebound'' features guest appearances by several artists - including saxophonist Dave Koz on the title track and country star Toby Keith on a remake of Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up.''

Keith, a fellow Oklahoman and longtime Sooners fan, approached Tisdale about collaborating. Tisdale said he was immediately on board, and Keith drove to Tisdale's Tulsa studio for a recording session.

"He doesn't sing, so he plays jazz bass,'' Keith said. "He'll take a remake sometimes and play it real good, real cool on his bass and do a real neat jazz version. I said, 'Well I can sing this thing.'''

The two first teamed up years ago when Keith was hosting a made-for-TV Super Bowl party and invited Tisdale to join Ted Nugent, Sammy Hagar, Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler and others in an all-star band.

"He's just a friend of mine, and I can sing anything,'' Keith said. "I like all kinds of music. I like to experiment. If I'd have got up there and it wouldn't have worked, we wouldn't have released it. But it worked really good.''

The capper to the CD is "Grateful,'' which begins with another sentiment from Tisdale - whose voice is rarely heard otherwise in his mostly instrumental work - in the form of a prayer: "Even when my days were their darkest, you were there for me.''

It also features some words of encouragement at the end, finishing with Tisdale telling the listener, "Remember, you're just a rebound away.''

It's just the finish Tisdale wanted, in hopes that his own survival story will encourage others going through hard times.

"I'm always big on that. Please don't feel sorry for me,'' Tisdale said. "Don't look at my situation as, `Whoa, pitiful Wayman.'''

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Game 6 Draws Best NBA Finals Ratings Since 2000

NEW YORK, June 18 (AP) -- Game 6 drew the highest NBA Finals television ratings in eight years.

The Boston Celtics' deciding victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night earned a 10.7 rating on ABC, the network said Wednesday. It's the highest since Game 6 of the 2000 Finals on NBC between the Lakers and Indiana Pacers.

The series averaged a 9.3 rating, up 50 percent over the 6.2 last year, when the San Antonio Spurs swept the Cleveland Cavaliers. But it fell short of the last Finals involving the Lakers in 2004, which averaged an 11.5.

The rating is the percentage watching a program among homes with televisions.

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Pierce-led Celtics Eliminate Pistons in Six

Boston 89, Detroit 81

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., May 30 (AP) -- Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce walked together, sporting black hats with green four-leaf clovers, and tried to soak up the moment when both superstars became conference champions for the first time.

"My heart is beating faster,'' Pierce said.

Someone asked Garnett if he needed a water.

"I'm good,'' Garnett said.

KG and the Big Three certainly are.

Pierce scored 27 points, Ray Allen had 17 and Garnett added 16 to lift the Boston Celtics to an 89-81 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Boston got past an old nemesis to set up a matchup with another rival.

The Celtics, who locked up with Detroit many times in the 1980s, will now rekindle another classic series in the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

"It's kind of surreal,'' Garnett said. "Probably hasn't even hit me yet because we haven't slept in about four days, going on five days now. Going to the finals, I'm just hoping to get some sleep.''

After playing two Game 7s, the Celtics will get a needed break before hosting Kobe Bryant and the Lakers on Thursday night.

"We're emotionally drained,'' Garnett said.

The Celtics are in the NBA finals for the first time since losing to the Lakers in 1987, the third meeting in a four-year span.

The Pistons blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost in Game 6 of the conference finals for the third straight year. They were eliminated on their home court for the first time during a six-year run that included a trip to the conference finals each year and the 2004 title.

"This is really tough,'' said Chauncey Billups, who scored a playoff-high 29 points. "We had it, and we didn't get over the hump.''

Boston entered the series without a road win in the postseason, then beat Detroit on its home court twice to win the grueling series. The NBA's top-seeded team also rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit for the first time in seven chances during the playoffs.

"It was probably the best thing because now we can say we have gone through some stuff and we're still standing,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.

The loss might lead to changes on a Detroit team that has looked the same on the court for four seasons.

Billups played well and Richard Hamilton scored 21, but the rest of their teammates had lackluster efforts -- especially Rasheed Wallace.

At one point Billups had 21 points, matching the total for the rest of the team.

Wallace scored just four points on 2-of-12 shooting and had three turnovers in what might've been his last game as a Piston and could've been Flip Saunders' last as Detroit's coach. President of basketball operations Joe Dumars will likely make some sort of moves on the bench, the court or both.

"I'm sure that's something Joe and I will sit down and evaluate,'' Saunders said.

Wallace made three trips to his locker -- with reporters surrounding it -- before finally saying something to the media without taking questions.

"That's the end, man,'' Wallace said.

After it was 58-all, Detroit closed the third quarter with a 10-2 run and took its first lead since midway through the opening quarter.

Just when it seemed the Pistons might be in control with a 70-60 lead early in the fourth, the Celtics scored nine points in less than 2 minutes and went on a 19-4 run that put them ahead 79-74.

Billups' three-point play pulled Detroit to 83-79 with 2:24 left, then the Pistons wasted a chance to get closer.

Tayshaun Prince grabbed a loose ball after a Boston miss and turned the ball over when James Posey surprised him from behind and snatched it away.

"He looked to his left, put the ball out and I just snatched it,'' Posey said.

Pierce made two free throws on the possession, putting the Celtics up by six with 1 1/2 minutes to go.

The Pistons failed on their 3-pointers down the stretch and couldn't take advantage of Garnett and Pierce missing three free throws in the final 40 seconds.

The Pistons were eliminated at The Palace for the first time since Pierce helped Boston do it in the second round of the 2002 playoffs. Detroit had won its previous five games this postseason when coming off a loss.

With only one title and two NBA Finals appearances during its impressive six-year run, the franchise will draw more comparisons to baseball's Atlanta Braves.

The Celtics, meanwhile, validated their bold move of adding Garnett and Allen to join Pierce. Garnett and Pierce played key roles in the decisive fourth quarter, outscoring Detroit 20-13.

Boston point guard Rajon Rondo scored 11 points and Kendrick Perkins added seven points and seven rebounds.

Notes: Hamilton did not seem to be affected by a sore right elbow, which he injured late in the previous game. "My dad said to spit on it,'' Hamilton said. "I guess that's an old-school thing.'' Did he follow the advice? "Yeah,'' Hamilton said with a grin. ... Both teams were watching replays of Game 5 before Game 6 and were still complaining about the officiating. When Pierce was shown essentially tackling Billups in the previous game, he joked to teammates: "I got him down at the 2.'' ... Faces in the crowd included Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez, singers Kid Rock and Anita Baker along with Lions linebacker Ernie Sims. ... Detroit fell to 4-4 when trailing 3-2 in the playoffs, dating to the 2003 playoffs, when four of their current starters played key roles. ... The Celtics and Pistons met five times between 1985 and 1991, with Detroit winning three matchups.

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Lakers Look for Bounce Back in Finals

LOS ANGELES, June 8 (AP) -- Frequent flyers, the Los Angeles Lakers were allowed an unlimited number of carry-on items for their trip home.

It remains to be seen if any of them contained momentum.

After losing two games in Boston, the Lakers returned to California on Monday in a hole as deep as Topanga Canyon. Over 96 minutes, they have looked nothing like the team which pulverized Denver, pushed aside Utah and swatted away San Antonio with ease on the way to winning the Western Conference title.

With the exception of an eight-minute stretch at the end of Game 2, Kobe Bryant and his crew have looked sickly in the finals.

However, there's no truth to the rumor they were taken from their charter plane at LAX in Paul Pierce's infamous wheelchair.

Though down 0-2, and facing history along with the league's toughest defense, the Lakers felt good about their comeback - they whacked a 24-point deficit to two over the final 7:55 - and are confident they can swing the series at the Staples Center in Game on Tuesday night.

They are 8-0 in the postseason there and unbeaten in 14 home games since March 28.

"All they did is protect their home court,'' said Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic, who made two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 108-102 loss and had a potential go-ahead 3 blocked by Pierce with 14 seconds left. "All they did was protect their home court, so it's going to be a different story in L.A.''

It had better be.

Only three teams: Boston against Los Angeles in 1969, Portland against Philadelphia in 1977, and Miami against Dallas in 2006 have overcome an 0-2 deficit to win it all. The Lakers have some work to do if they intend to be the fourth.

Through two games, they have been outhustled, outmuscled, outeverythinged by a Celtics team now two wins from a 17th NBA championship. Following Sunday's loss, Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson was asked if the team can carry the momentum from their failed, frantic fourth-quarter comeback into Game 3.

"No, no,'' said Jackson, who has been delivering one-liners like Rodney Dangerfield during the series. "It's 2,500 miles away. It's too far to carry it.''

The purple-and-gold, though, have been a different club while playing before super fan Jack Nicholson and Hollywood's glitzy crowd. Like the Celtics, the Lakers will try to feed off the energy of being back in familiar surroundings.

The perpetually sunglassed Nicholson, who was a no-show in Boston, has been around long enough to remember the days when the NBA finals were in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, that is, the team with the best record hosts Games 1 and 2 and hits the road for Games 3 and 4 before the series goes back and forth for Games 5, 6 and 7.

The our house, your house, our house matchups over those final three games drove up the drama and built suspense to a crescendo, creating some of the most memorable finals games and series in history. But that all came to an end in 1985, following a chat between a then-rookie commissioner and pro basketball's cigar-waving patriarch.

More than two decades ago, when the Celtics and Lakers were hogging basketball's biggest stage and treating it as their own annual best-of-seven postseason playground, Red Auerbach, Boston's legendary coach and guiding spirit, suggested to David Stern that the schedule for the finals be changed to its current 2-3-2 sequence.

Stern remembers it well.

"Although he's not here to deny it, Red said to me be back in '84, that this is too much play, travel, play, travel, play, travel,'' said the commish, whose tenure began 23 years ago with Magic vs. Bird Act I. "In subsequent years, he said it was terrible that we went to the 2-3-2, but a young commissioner was motivated by the father of us all.''

Father doesn't always know best.

Somewhere, Red may be wishing he hadn't opened his cigar-savoring mouth.

Since its inception in 1985, the 2-3-2 format has been a sore spot among players and some coaches, who contend the setup hurts the top-seeded team, which earned the right to host Games 1 and 2 based on having the better regular-season record.

Instead of hosting the all important and pivotal Game 5, the No. 1 team, in this case the Celtics, must play three straight games - unless they sweep - on the road in front of a raucous crowd. Lose the last one, and a team can be on the brink of losing the series.

"From afar, what I've never liked about the 2-3-2 is you fight all year to have Game 7 at home and Game 5 at home,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "Game 5 is taken away from you. We're had three huge Game 5s in the first three rounds. All of them have been at home.''

Jackson isn't as down on the 2-3-2 concept as Rivers, but as always, the Zen Master has his own take on the difficulties of playing three in a row in one place.

"The duration of three games on one court, those have always been tough to maintain,'' said Jackson, tied with Auerbach with nine NBA titles. "I've had teams that have been on the road and won three games in a row, but I can't ever remember winning three the other way around as a home coach in the finals.''

Jackson, 9-1 in the finals, has never done it, but others have. Since the 2-3-2 format began, both the Detroit Pistons (2004) - against the Lakers - and Miami Heat (2006) won the three middle games on their home court.

The Lakers are capable of doing it, too, but they'll need Bryant to start being himself and make some shots. He's 20-of-49 in two games. They need Pau Gasol to assert himself from start to finish, and they'll need their touted bench to do more than it has done so far. Boston's reserves have outclassed the Lakers' backups.

It wouldn't hurt, either, if Los Angeles got some calls. In Sunday night's loss, the Celtics went to the free throw line 38 times to just 10 for the Lakers, many of whom barked at the officials throughout the game. Bryant was called for a technical for complaining and Danny Crawford seemed to be close to giving him a second one.

Jackson pointed out that Celtics reserve Leon Powe (it rhymes with show), whose name he mispronounced following the game, shot more free throws (13) than his entire team.

"That's ridiculous,'' he said. "Unbelievable.''

He could have been talking about his team.

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Los Angeles 103, Boston 98 (F)

LOS ANGELES, June 15 (AP) -- As purple-and-gold streamers rained down, Lamar Odom shook his head in approval, Derek Fisher caressed the game ball against his chest and Kobe Bryant clapped his hands before striding from the floor.

"I love L.A.'' blared through the speakers and "Not In Our House!'' flashed on the scoreboard.

The P.A. announcer cried, "This is not over yet!''

The Los Angeles Lakers aren't done playing. The NBA finals are headed East.

Bryant scored 25 points - including a decisive dunk in the final minute - and Odom added 20 as the Lakers, playing with pride on their star-studded stage, prevented the Boston Celtics from winning a 17th title with a 103-98 win in Game 5 on Sunday night to close to 3-2 in this restored rivalry.

"We didn't want to see any champagne popping,'' Odom said. "It wasn't easy. I wouldn't expect it to be.''

No team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in the finals to win a title. The first 28 failed, and now the Lakers, who blew a 24-point lead and lost Game 4 and nearly squandered a 19-point lead in Game 5, have a chance to do something extraordinary.

They'll have to win on the Celtics' parquet floor Tuesday night to force a winner-take-all Game 7, where anything is possible.

Especially with Bryant, the game's best player, on hand.

"In training camp if you told us, 'We'll give you two games that you have to win to win a world championship,' we would have taken it in a heartbeat,'' Bryant said. "This is a great opportunity for us.''

The league's MVP and ultimate finisher isn't finished yet.

On a night when Bryant didn't have his best game, the other Lakers came up big.

Pau Gasol had 19 points and 13 rebounds, Odom had 11 rebounds and four blocks, Fisher added 15 points and Jordan Farmar came off the bench to get 11.

"We were aggressive. We played hard,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Not smart all the time, but we played hard.''

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 38 points and played all but two seconds. Kevin Garnett added 13 points and 14 rebounds, and Ray Allen had 16 points. But Boston's Big Three couldn't close out their first chance at winning it all, and now will get two cracks at home.

Following the game, Allen left the arena immediately because of an undisclosed health issue with one of his children.

The Celtics, trying to win their first title since 1986, are consoled by the fact they are going home. They are 47-7 at TD Banknorth Garden this season.

"We wanted to go back home, but we didn't want to play,'' coach Doc Rivers said. "But now we have to play, and we earned that right. That's why the regular season is so important. We fought for it all year. We have Game 6 at home, and that's not a bad place to be.''

After scoring 15 points in the first quarter, Bryant went cold from the floor and finished just 8-of-21. But he made a big steal, poking the ball away from Pierce and streaking down to deliver a two-handed dunk with 37.4 seconds left.

"I just was kind of reading the play and I was able to get my hands on the ball and get out and get a dunk,'' Bryant said.

The Celtics called a timeout, superfan Jack Nicholson jumped to his feet and the scoreboard in Staples Center flashed: Not In Our House!

On Saturday, Bryant had said "this is far from over,'' and he could be right.

Accused of being selfish and too tough on his not-as-talented teammates, Bryant can bow to the other Lakers for sending the series back across country. Gasol, the 7-foot Spanish center criticized for being pillowy soft, didn't back down underneath and was able to get Garnett into foul trouble.

But just as they did in Game 4, when they staged the biggest comeback in finals history, the Celtics pushed the Lakers to the brink of summer with another rally. This one fell a little short, but the outcome was still in doubt when Pierce, who grew up hating Boston like every other kid from L.A., made two free throws with 1:14 remaining to get the Celtics to 97-95.

Fisher then missed a jumper and the Celtics appeared to be in business when Pierce fought off two Lakers for a rebound. But as he dribbled toward the basket, Bryant reached around and knocked the ball away to Odom, who then fed Bryant for his slam.

Still, the Celtics wouldn't go away.

After Bryant missed one of two free throws with 16 seconds left, Eddie House nailed a 3-pointer to make it 101-98 with 14 seconds left. House then nearly stole the ensuing inbounds pass, but Bryant, sprawled out on the floor, got the ball to Fisher, who drew a desperation foul.

Fisher then made two free throws and stole Boston's last pass as Lakers fans, stunned to silence a few nights ago, left the building dreaming of seeing another improbable comeback.

This is the 11th meeting - and first since 1987 - between the league's two most storied franchises, and it could be headed for a crescendo befitting the matchups between Bird and Magic, McHale and Abdul-Jabbar, and Russell and West.

Before the game, Lakers coach Jackson said the only way for his team to approach a close-out game was to keep playing.

"A lot of things can happen,'' he said. "We're young enough and dumb enough to be able to do this.''

With Bryant, they have the smarts and skills to get it done.

He made four 3-pointers in the first eight minutes and his free throw gave the Lakers a 25-15 lead. The Celtics were forced to extend their defense, and Bryant made them pay when he faked a long-range shot and fired a pass underneath to Vladimir Radmanovic to make it 29-15.

Odom, a model of inconsistency in the series, drove the lane for a hoop to put the Lakers ahead by 16, and Gasol's bucket in the final second made the overhead scoreboard read: Lakers 39, Celtics 22.

Most teams might panic. Not the Celtics. They were in a bigger hole - 21 points - after the first quarter in Game 4 when they staged their epic rally.

And, sure enough, back Boston came.

When Sasha Vujacic scored, the Lakers' lead bulged to 19 and the oh-so-trendy L.A. faithful were carrying on like a rowdy East coast crowd. That's when the Celtics began chipping away as Pierce scored six points and Tony Allen scored two quick baskets.

The Celtics' rally seemed short-lived when Garnett picked up his third personal, but with the Lakers unable to get anything to drop, Pierce made a layup and 3 to make it 43-39 before Odom finally ended Los Angeles' nearly six-minute scoring drought.

The Lakers briefly regrouped but P.J. Brown scored on a putback and Pierce hit another 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left as the Celtics closed to 55-52 at the half and bounded toward their locker room just 24 minutes from a title that remains just out of reach.

Notes: The Celtics played their 25th game of these playoffs, equaling the most by any team in one postseason. New York (1994) and Detroit (2005) also played 25, each ending with Game 7 losses in the finals. ... NFL star Terrell Owens and rap mogul P. Diddy were among the new celebrity faces, joining Hollywood A-listers Nicholson, Denzel Washington, Dustin Hoffman and soccer star David Beckham. ... Pierce denied a report that he'll have surgery on his sprained knee, although he may need one once he decides to have an MRI to assess the damage.

Kobe Won’t Force, Says Lakers Don’t Need to

Columbus Acquires Defenseman Jonathan Sigalet from Boston for Rights to Left Wing Matt Marquardt

Bynum’s Return Should Make Lakers Stronger

Signs Good for Allen to Play in Game 6

BOSTON, June 16 (AP) -- The Celtics expect Ray Allen to play when they try for a second time to win the NBA championship.

Kendrick Perkins? Now that's a different story.

Allen rushed from Staples Center after the Los Angeles Lakers' 103-98 win Sunday night that forced a sixth game Tuesday night in Boston. The reason: "health issues'' involving one of his three children.

Perkins watched Game 5 from the bench with a shoulder injury. His availability for Game 6 will be a game-time decision.

As the Celtics waited at LA International Airport on Monday afternoon for their delayed flight to leave, team spokesman Jeff Twiss said he expected Allen to take a later airplane to Boston. And, Twiss said, "I don't believe'' Allen will miss the game that could bring him his first NBA title in a 12-year career as a deadeye shooter and give the Celtics their first championship in 22 years.

Allen has two sons and a daughter. Some of the players' family members made the journey to Los Angeles for Games 3, 4 and 5.

The Celtics gave no details, only issuing a statement from coach Doc Rivers that "Ray Allen was forced to leave Staples Center at the conclusion of tonight's game due to a health issue with one of his children.''

Allen has been a solid contributor in the NBA Finals - second on the Celtics with 19.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game - after struggling with his shooting in earlier rounds.

Perkins' presence also has been very important - as shown by his absence in the game that cut Boston's lead in the series to 3-2.

The Celtics' 280-pound center was wearing street clothes when Lakers guard Jordan Farmar ventured into the key and sank two fourth-quarter layups Sunday night. Perkins could only watch from the bench while Pau Gasol yanked down 13 rebounds.

His strained left shoulder kept him from clogging the middle and convincing opponents they might be better off to stay away.

"It probably hurt us, obviously,'' said Rivers. "Whenever you lose, the guy that was hurt or the guy that didn't play becomes very valuable.''

Perkins status isn't the only question mark for a team with concerns at other starting spots.

Kevin Garnett said he "played like garbage'' in Game 5. Allen's state of mind may be an issue. Rajon Rondo "is just not playing well'' even though the ankle he hurt in the series is fine, Rivers said. And Paul Pierce sprained his knee in the series opener.

Still, Pierce has played brilliantly on offense and defense and should continue that when he's back before the ear-splitting cheers of a full house of home fans. Unfortunately for the Celtics, Perkins may be just one of them.

"Perk is a physical guy,'' Garnett said. "He plays the post better than anybody in this league. That's what he does. When you lose a key guy, you're losing something.''

Until this season, his fifth in the NBA, the 23-year-old Perkins was one of several developing youngsters on a struggling team. Then the Celtics traded most of those youngsters before this season for Garnett and Allen. That solidified Perkins' role - the bruiser to go along with All-Stars Garnett, Allen, Pierce and speedy point guard Rondo.

Pierce, Garnett and Allen are The Big Three. Perkins is The Biggest One, at least in terms of space taken up.

"We're used to playing with numerous (different) guys on the court,'' Pierce said. "We do it all the time in practice with our lineups, so I don't think that's something that's surprising to me. But, at the same time, we have Kendrick Perkins hurt, so that kind of changes things on the rotation side.''

Without Perkins, Garnett guarded Gasol and ran into foul trouble. Lamar Odom had an outstanding game - 20 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks - without being hounded by Garnett most of the times he touched the ball.

The Celtics started Leon Powe in place of Perkins, who is 40 pounds heavier and at least two inches taller. Powe played the first 4:59, was replaced by P.J. Brown with Boston trailing 14-5 and never returned.

"We have to start Leon, and P.J. Brown is getting a lot of minutes,'' Pierce said. "Rajon is suffering from a sprained ankle. So Doc is doing the best he can with the ailments we have on this team.''

Rivers could beef up his defense by using 289-pound rookie forward Glen Davis, who hasn't played in the series.

"It hurt not having Perkins out there and with Kevin suffering from foul trouble,'' Pierce said. "They took advantage of that with Pau and Lamar, so definitely they were aggressive. ... But I know we'll bounce back. Hopefully, we can get Perkins back. If we can keep Kevin out of foul trouble, I think we'll be fine.''

2008 Playoff Overtime Goals

Columbus Acquires Defenseman Jonathan Sigalet from Boston for Rights to Left Wing Matt Marquardt

Celtics Gain Edge on Pistons with Game 5 Win

Rookie Price back in goal as Canadiens look to stave off elimination

Bynum's Return Should Make Lakers Stronger

LOS ANGELES, June 18 (AP) -- Although the Lakers' season ended with a thud, they have Andrew Bynum coming back and youth and Kobe Bryant on their side, so they can say "Wait 'til next year'' and be taken seriously.

Since Shaquille O'Neal left town with three championship rings following the 2003-2004 season, Los Angeles has been vulnerable inside on both ends of the floor. Boston's big men, exemplified by Kevin Garnett in Game 6, were more than the Lakers could handle.

As the Celtics were romping to a 131-92 victory in their clinching Game 6 Tuesday night, a Boston fan held a sign that read, "Kobe, You Can't Do Jack Without Shaq.''

Bryant might be able to do that and more with 7-foot, 285-pound Bynum at center and 7-0 Pau Gasol at forward.

Acquiring Gasol in February turned the Lakers' season around, helping them win the tough Western Conference and come within two games of taking the league title. But Gasol, a 250-pounder, didn't have the bulk needed to match up against heftier players.

"They overran us. Garnett knocked Pau down in the lane and scored an easy basket in the first four or five possessions and set kind of a tone,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

Bryant's options were limited because he couldn't drive to the hoop consistently. The Celtics could.

Asked what Bynum will bring to the team, Bryant said, "Rebounding and shot-blocker in the middle. He solves a couple of those.''

Sidelined since Jan. 13 by a knee injury and ensuing surgery, Bynum was averaging 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.06 blocks and was shooting a league-high 63.6 percent from the floor when he went up for a rebound and came down on teammate Lamar Odom's foot.

The freak injury occurred as Bynum, still a pro basketball baby at 20, seemed to be rapidly coming of age. He is expected to be ready to go by the start of next season.

Watching the finals from the sidelines was painful for him.

"Definitely want to be able to go out there and play, help your teammates out,'' he said after the Lakers lost the opening game. "Not being able to do that kind of stinks, especially when you lose by a little bit like we did last time. You lose by rebounds, blocked shots, turnovers; people walking down getting layups and that's a big part of my job as a center.''

Odom hopes Bynum's return will make a big difference.

"Obviously, we really don't know because we haven't all played together, but with Gasol and Bynum down there with the players that we have, I'm pretty sure it will,'' Odom said.

Sasha Vujacic is guaranteeing that the Lakers will win it all next season.

"Especially with Andrew and the same group, we won't be short two games like we were this year. I can guarantee you that,'' Vujacic said. "We are going to work really hard. We want to win it. We lost our first finals and I think we have a lot more to go.''

Looking ahead, although Bryant didn't have a stellar series in the finals, he's the regular-season MVP and still arguably the best in the game. He, Gasol and Bynum conceivably could be the next "Big Three.''

And they'll be around for a while.

Bryant turns 30 on Aug. 23 and Gasol's 28th birthday is next month. Derek Fisher, 33, was the only Los Angeles regular over 30 in the series against the Celtics. Boston's Garnett and Ray Allen will be 33 at finals time next year, and Paul Pierce will be 31.

Since the Lakers' season began in turmoil, with Bryant calling the team's front office "a mess'' and asking to be traded, their turnaround and trip to the finals was unexpected.

Jackson called the Lakers' season a "remarkable'' one.

"We suffered injuries and survived a season and rebuilt our team and came back and had a great playoff run until the Celtics were able to extinguish that hope,'' he said.

"But we'll look back on this favorably. We were surprised we were here, and we're glad that we had an opportunity. But whenever you get this opportunity, you don't want to let it slip away, and we did.''

While Jackson said the Lakers need to acquire some players if they are going to return to the finals, Bryant - who essentially had demanded last summer that he get some help - said no shakeup is necessary.

"No, we're fine. I think what we have to do is continue to work. That's really the key, understanding that this isn't guaranteed to anybody. There are people who have gotten here before and never gotten back, so it's important for us to understand that, to work hard and come back next year ready to go,'' Bryant said.

Bus Into The Wolves Den With The IceHogs

Sharapova, pulls out of German Open

Kobe Won’t Force, Says Lakers Don’t Need to

Game Six Tickets on Sale Now

Popovich Confirms Contract Extension with Spurs

SAN ANTONIO, May 28 (AP) -- Coach Gregg Popovich has signed a contract extension with the San Antonio Spurs.

Popovich confirmed the extension with the defending NBA champions, which runs through the 2011-12 season, before the Spurs' Game 4 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

Popovich has led the Spurs and star Tim Duncan to four NBA titles, in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Last year, the Spurs swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in four games.

Duncan last fall agreed to a two-year extension with the Spurs that will keep him in San Antonio at least through the 2011-12 season.

The Spurs' title defense is currently on the line. They are down 3-1 to the Lakers in the Western Conference finals and face elimination on Thursday night in Game 5.

Popovich became the Spurs' head coach in December 1996. He has a 632-302 (.677) regular-season record.

Horry Says Return ‘Up in the Air’

Ducks sign Carter to new deal

Yamaha ready to renew Rossi’s contract

Series confirms new deal with Ratel

Celtics Capture 17th NBA Title With Record Win Over Lakers

Boston 131, L.A. Lakers 92

BOSTON, June 17 (AP) -- With Russell and Havlicek sitting courtside, and Red surely lighting up a victory cigar somewhere, these Boston Celtics returned to glory like the great teams before them.

Dominant in every way.

On a new parquet floor below aging championship banners hung in the rafters two decades back, the Celtics won their 17th NBA title and a first one - at last - for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen - their Big Three for a new generation.

After 22 long years, the NBA has gone green.

Lifted by ear-splitting chants of "Beat L.A.'' early and cries of "Seven-teen'' in the closing seconds by their adoring crowd, the Celtics concluded a shocking rebound of a season with a stunning 131-92 blowout over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 on Tuesday night.

"It means so much more because these are the guys, the Havliceks, the Bill Russells, the Cousys,'' Pierce said. "These guys started what's going on with those banners. They don't hang up any other banners but championship ones.

"And now I'm a part of it.''

With the outcome assured, Boston fans sang into the night as if they were in a pub on nearby Canal Street. They serenaded the newest champs in this city of champs, and taunted Kobe Bryant and his Lakers, who drowned in a green-and-white wave for 48 minutes.

Garnett scored 26 points with 14 rebounds, Allen scored 26 and Pierce, The Finals MVP who shook off a sprained right knee sustained in Game 1, added 17 as the Celtics, a 24-win team a year ago, wrapped up their first title since 1986.

Rajon Rondo had 21 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and six steals as the Celtics, who built a 23-point halftime lead and obliterated the Lakers, who were trying to become the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in The Finals.

They didn't stand a chance.

Boston's 39-point win surpassed the NBA record for the biggest margin of victory in a championship clincher; the Celtics beat the Lakers 129-96 in Game 5 of the 1965 NBA Finals.

In the final minute, Pierce doused Celtics coach Doc Rivers with red Gatorade. Owner Wyc Grousbeck, who named his group Banner 17 to leave no doubt about his goal, put an unlit cigar in his mouth - a tribute to Auerbach, the patriarch who had a hand in the franchise's first 16 titles.

Garnett dropped to the parquet and kissed the leprechaun at center court and then found Russell, the Hall of Famer who taught him the Celtic way, for a long embrace.

"I got my own. I got my own,'' Garnett said. "I hope we made you proud.''

"You sure did,'' Russell said.

Rivers pulled Pierce, Garnett and Allen with 4:01 left and they shared a group hug with their coach, who was nearly run out of town last season. Rivers lost his father at the beginning of this remarkable run, a season no one expected.

By the time Rivers was handed the Larry O'Brien Trophy, it was June 18 - his late father's birthday.

When the game clock reached zeros, Rivers reflected on his dad.

"My first thought was what would my dad say,'' Rivers said, "and honestly I started laughing because I thought he would probably say, if you knew my dad, `It's about time. What have you been waiting for?'''

It's was Boston's first title since the passing of Auerbach, whose presence was the only thing missing on this night. Even Auerbach, who died in 2006, got some satisfaction. Led by Rivers, Auerbach's beloved team denied Lakers coach Phil Jackson from overtaking him with a 10th championship.

The Boston-Los Angeles rivalry, nothing more than black-and-white footage from the 60s and TV highlights of players wearing short shorts in the 80s to young hoops fans, remains tilted toward the Atlantic Ocean. The Celtics are 9-2 against the Lakers in the finals.

Boston missed its first crack at closing out the series in Game 5, but the Celtics didn't miss on their second swing, running the Lakers out of the gym.

Bryant, the regular season MVP, finished with 22 points on 7-of-22 shooting.

He started 4-of-5 from the field and seemed intent on forcing a Game 7. But he missed seven shots in a row and everywhere he went, L.A.'s No. 24 ran smack into a wall of Boston defense as high as the Green Monster.

"They were definitely the best defense I've seen the entire playoffs,'' Bryant said. "I've seen some pretty stiff ones and this was right up there with them. The goal was to win a championship, it wasn't to win MVP or anything like that, it was to win a championship.''

Garnett and Allen were All-Stars in other cities, stuck in Minnesota and Seattle, respectively, on teams going nowhere. But brought together in trades last summer by Celtics general manager Danny Ainge, a member of the '86 Celtics champions, they joined Pierce and formed an unbreakable bond, a trio as tight as the club's lucky shamrock logo.

They resisted being called The Big Three, a nickname given to Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish two decades ago.

"This is the reason we came here,'' Garnett said. "This is the reason we got together, and Danny made it go down. This is it right now.''

With Garnett scoring 17 points and Pierce adding 10, Boston built a 58-35 halftime lead, and unlike Game 2 when they let the Lakers trim a 24-point lead to two in the fourth quarter before recovering, the Celtics never stopped.

They pushed their lead to 31 in the third, and with Boston still up by 29 after three, plastic sheets started going up in the Celtics' locker room in preparation for a champagne celebration.

No team had to work harder for a championship than these Celtics, who were playing in their record 26th postseason game after being pushed to seven games by Atlanta and Cleveland before taking care of Detroit in six to win the Eastern Conference title.

They entered Game 6 slowed by injuries as Pierce, Kendrick Perkins (shoulder) and Rondo (ankle) were less than 100 percent. There was also uncertainty surrounding Allen, who stayed behind in Los Angeles following Game 5 after his youngest son became ill and was diagnosed with diabetes. The Celtics needed three planes to get back from L.A. and didn't get home until late Monday night.

But there were no excuses, and just as they had while winning 66 games during the regular season, the Celtics got plenty of help from their bench as P.J. Brown, James Posey, Leon Powe and rookie Glen "Big Baby'' Davis came in and contributed.

It was a group effort by this gang in green, which bonded behind Rivers, who borrowed an African word ubuntu (pronounced Ooh-BOON-too) and roughly means "I am, because we are'' in English, as the Celtics' unifying team motto.

The Celtics gave the Lakers a 12-minute crash course of ubuntu in the second quarter.

Boston outscored Los Angeles 34-19, getting 11 field goals on 11 assists. The Celtics toyed with the Lakers, outworking the Western Conference's best inside and out and showing the same kind of heart that made Boston the center of pro basketball's universe in the '60s.

House and Posey made 3-pointers to put the Celtics ahead by 12 points and baskets by Pierce, Garnett and Rondo put Boston ahead by 18.

In the final minute, Garnett floated in the lane, banked in a one-handed runner and was fouled. His free throw made it 56-35, and after Perkins scored, the Celtics ran to the locker room leading by 23.

On his way off the floor, Garnett screamed, "That's that.''

And so it was.

Notes: The Lakers had won their previous eight straight Game 6s in the finals. ... Since the finals began in 1947, 16 have gone seven games, the most recent in 2005 when San Antonio had to go the distance to beat Detroit. ... It was the second biggest margin in finals history behind Chicago's 96-54 win over Utah in 1998. ... The Celtics went 48-7 at home, including 13-1 in the postseason.

2008 Playoff Overtime Goals

Columbus Acquires Defenseman Jonathan Sigalet from Boston for Rights to Left Wing Matt Marquardt

Slump Won’t Stop Allen From Shooting

C’s Big Three Gets Early Start with Duck Tour