Lakers Put Away The Celtics In Boston

[Liberal_Dog]

BOSTON (AP) -- Kobe Bryant bumped fists with Ray Allen, a show of respect for a player who entered the NBA with him 15 years ago and had just become the league's 3-point king.

As Allen went off the court for a victory lap, the roar of the fans made Boston's arena sound like mid-June.

Then it was time for Bryant to quiet them down.

The All-Star guard scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half, rallying the Los Angeles Lakers to a 92-86 victory over the Celtics on Thursday night in an NBA finals rematch.

Allen became the career leader in 3-pointers in the first quarter, but Bryant later put him on the bench in foul trouble during his big second half as Los Angeles overcame an early 15-point deficit.

"In the first half, they got a lot of easy opportunities in transition, a lot of easy catch-and-shoots and things like that," Bryant said. "We just kind of had to put a stop to it."

Pau Gasol added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who split the regular-season series with their biggest rivals and got a sorely needed victory - the best of the season, according to center Andrew Bynum - against one of the league's top teams.

"It's always fun to beat Boston," Bynum said.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/gameflash/2011/02/10/29390_recap.html#ixzz1DfjPup00

[Forkboy]

1. all the fun happened at the Garden the night before between the Bruins and Montreal.

[Iggo]

2. ; - P