Lakers win NBA thriller to end Celtics streak

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AFP) - - Lamar Odom's free throws with 16 seconds left in overtime helped the Los Angeles Lakers stop the streaking Boston Celtics cold for the second time this season.

The Lakers outlasted the Celtics 110-109 - their second victory over the Celtics this season after they fell to Boston in six games in the National Basketball Association championship series last season.

Kobe Bryant had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Odom added 20 points for the Lakers who imprved to 40-9. That gave them the best record in the NBA in terms of percentage, as the Celtics fell to 41-10.

The Lakers also had the satisfaction of again ending a significant Celtics winning streak.

The Lakers ended Boston's franchise-record 19-game winning streak in Los Angeles Christmas Day.

This time they halted a 12-game winning streak. What may eventually prove more important, the two victories earned the tiebreaker for home-court advantage if the teams meet again in the NBA Finals.

The Lakers trailed 109-108 when Odom blocked a shot by Glend Davis, grabbed the loose ball and tried launch a fast break.

He was fouled as he passed, setting up his key free throws.

On the ensuing possession - the final one of the game - Rajon Rondo accidentally was undercut by Derek Fisher, who fell to the floor in the path of the Celtics' point guard.

The gaffe let the Celtics set up a play from out-of-bounds, but Pau Gasol got a piece of Ray Allen's three-point attempt.

Fans at the TD Banknorth Garden went wild calling for a foul as time expired.

Allen scored 22 points for the Celtics, who were without defensive player of the year Kevin Garnett at the end of the game after he fouled out with 4:22 to play in the fourth quarter. Yahoo! News.

So did his teammates.

Bryant and LeBron James tussled to a virtual standoff Monday night, but Bryant's supporting cast was far more effective, and that was the difference as the Lakers beat Cleveland 105-88 to snap a five-game losing streak to the Cavaliers.

Bryant had 20 points, six rebounds and 12 assists in 41 minutes despite dislocating the ring finger on his shooting hand less than two minutes into the game.

"I just dove for the ball, and the finger just popped out," Bryant recalled afterward while wearing a splint on the injured finger. "I was scared, I thought I was done. It felt like I had two fingers on one, it was just disgusting. (Trainer) Gary (Vitti) just popped it back into place. Not fun.

"A lot," Bryant added when asked how much his finger bothered him during the game. "I played with some pain, obviously. I just tried to adjust as I went along, I just tried to play through it. It's just throbbing right now."

Bryant, who shot 9-of-22, spoke to reporters just minutes after X-rays showed no fracture. He said he hadn't sustained this kind of injury before, and didn't believe he would miss any playing time.

"For a while, we thought he was just going to be a playmaker tonight, but the second half, he started feeling like he could shoot it," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, noting Bryant scored 15 of his 20 points after halftime.

Pau Gasol shot 11-of-13 and led Los Angeles with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Andrew Bynum and Sasha Vujacic scored 14 points each and Derek Fisher added 11 for the Lakers, whose 32-8 record is tops in the Western Conference.

James had 23 points and nine rebounds, but shot just 9-of-25. Mo Williams added 16 points, six rebounds and five assists and Sasha Pavlovic scored 12 for the Cavaliers (31-8), who absorbed their most one-sided loss of the season.

"You've got to give the Lakers credit, they played a very good basketball game," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "I thought they were the aggressors tonight. I thought they got up in us and made us play quick. You have to give Kobe Bryant credit, I thought he played a whale of a game."

Bryant scored nine points during a 16-7 run to start the fourth quarter, giving the Lakers a 91-73 lead with 6:35 remaining. But just when the game seemed out of reach, the Cavaliers scored 11 straight points in three minutes to make it 91-84.

But a jumper by Fisher ended the drought, and Trevor Ariza made two 3-pointers after that, sparking the Lakers to a 14-4 game-closing spurt.

"We got back to what we were trying to accomplish and finished the game," Jackson said.

Bryant began the game guarding James, and the fans reacted with a murmur of anticipation when they saw the matchup. Bryant spent most of the game defending the Cavaliers' star, but had plenty of help from his teammates.

"It's always great when you go against the best," James said. "It brings out the best in you. He's one of the ultimate competitors that we have in our game today, and I enjoy going against him.

"Defensively, they were really good. The same shots we made in the first half, we didn't in the second half. We had some open looks, but we couldn't capitalize and knock them down. And against a team like the Lakers, if you don't knock down shots, they can pull away because of how good they are offensively."

The Lakers avoided their first three-game losing streak since last January.

"It was a huge deal," Gasol said. "We didn't want to come out of this game with another loss on our homecourt. It was important for us to bounce back tonight. This is a significant victory for us. The defensive effort was outstanding."

Gasol scored eight points and Bryant added six during a 22-10 run that gave the Lakers a 75-64 lead - largest of the game for either team to that stage. It was 75-66 entering the fourth quarter.

"I thought we did a great job defensively," said Lamar Odom, who had eight points and 10 rebounds. "It was fun. We have to load up on (James). There's no way we're going to leave our best player on an island with him. Kobe did a great job of denying him the ball."

Notes

Lakers F Luke Walton (injured right foot) missed his ninth straight game, although Jackson said beforehand that Walton was available. ... With Odom (right knee) and Vujacic (back spasms) having returned to action in recent days, the only unavailable player for the Lakers right now is G Jordan Farmar (left knee). ... The Cavaliers played without C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (left ankle), G Delonte West (right wrist) and G Eric Snow (left knee). ... The Lakers have an 8-2 record against the Cavaliers at Staples Center since the arena opened in 1999, but had lost the previous two home games to Cleveland. ... The game was the opener of a four-game trip for the Cavaliers, who are 11-8 on the road and have lost four of their last five road games. ... The Cavaliers are 11-2 against Western Conference teams and the Lakers are 11-5 against the East. ... The game was the second of six straight for the Lakers at Staples Center including a designated road game against the Clippers on Wednesday night.

Bryant and LeBron James tussled to a virtual standoff Monday night, but Bryant's supporting cast was far more effective, and that was the difference as the Lakers beat Cleveland 105-88 to snap a five-game losing streak to the Cavaliers.

Bryant had 20 points, six rebounds and 12 assists in 41 minutes despite dislocating the ring finger on his shooting hand less than two minutes into the game.

"I just dove for the ball, and the finger just popped out," Bryant recalled afterward while wearing a splint on the injured finger. "I was scared, I thought I was done. It felt like I had two fingers on one, it was just disgusting. (Trainer) Gary (Vitti) just popped it back into place. Not fun.

"A lot," Bryant added when asked how much his finger bothered him during the game. "I played with some pain, obviously. I just tried to adjust as I went along, I just tried to play through it. It's just throbbing right now."

Bryant, who shot 9-of-22, spoke to reporters just minutes after X-rays showed no fracture. He said he hadn't sustained this kind of injury before, and didn't believe he would miss any playing time.

"For a while, we thought he was just going to be a playmaker tonight, but the second half, he started feeling like he could shoot it," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, noting Bryant scored 15 of his 20 points after halftime.

Pau Gasol shot 11-of-13 and led Los Angeles with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Andrew Bynum and Sasha Vujacic scored 14 points each and Derek Fisher added 11 for the Lakers, whose 32-8 record is tops in the Western Conference.

James had 23 points and nine rebounds, but shot just 9-of-25. Mo Williams added 16 points, six rebounds and five assists and Sasha Pavlovic scored 12 for the Cavaliers (31-8), who absorbed their most one-sided loss of the season.

"You've got to give the Lakers credit, they played a very good basketball game," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "I thought they were the aggressors tonight. I thought they got up in us and made us play quick. You have to give Kobe Bryant credit, I thought he played a whale of a game."

Bryant scored nine points during a 16-7 run to start the fourth quarter, giving the Lakers a 91-73 lead with 6:35 remaining. But just when the game seemed out of reach, the Cavaliers scored 11 straight points in three minutes to make it 91-84.

But a jumper by Fisher ended the drought, and Trevor Ariza made two 3-pointers after that, sparking the Lakers to a 14-4 game-closing spurt.

"We got back to what we were trying to accomplish and finished the game," Jackson said.

Bryant began the game guarding James, and the fans reacted with a murmur of anticipation when they saw the matchup. Bryant spent most of the game defending the Cavaliers' star, but had plenty of help from his teammates.

"It's always great when you go against the best," James said. "It brings out the best in you. He's one of the ultimate competitors that we have in our game today, and I enjoy going against him.

"Defensively, they were really good. The same shots we made in the first half, we didn't in the second half. We had some open looks, but we couldn't capitalize and knock them down. And against a team like the Lakers, if you don't knock down shots, they can pull away because of how good they are offensively."

The Lakers avoided their first three-game losing streak since last January.

"It was a huge deal," Gasol said. "We didn't want to come out of this game with another loss on our homecourt. It was important for us to bounce back tonight. This is a significant victory for us. The defensive effort was outstanding."

Gasol scored eight points and Bryant added six during a 22-10 run that gave the Lakers a 75-64 lead - largest of the game for either team to that stage. It was 75-66 entering the fourth quarter.

"I thought we did a great job defensively," said Lamar Odom, who had eight points and 10 rebounds. "It was fun. We have to load up on (James). There's no way we're going to leave our best player on an island with him. Kobe did a great job of denying him the ball."

Notes

Lakers F Luke Walton (injured right foot) missed his ninth straight game, although Jackson said beforehand that Walton was available. ... With Odom (right knee) and Vujacic (back spasms) having returned to action in recent days, the only unavailable player for the Lakers right now is G Jordan Farmar (left knee). ... The Cavaliers played without C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (left ankle), G Delonte West (right wrist) and G Eric Snow (left knee). ... The Lakers have an 8-2 record against the Cavaliers at Staples Center since the arena opened in 1999, but had lost the previous two home games to Cleveland. ... The game was the opener of a four-game trip for the Cavaliers, who are 11-8 on the road and have lost four of their last five road games. ... The Cavaliers are 11-2 against Western Conference teams and the Lakers are 11-5 against the East. ... The game was the second of six straight for the Lakers at Staples Center including a designated road game against the Clippers on Wednesday night. FoxSports.

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Once again, the Lakers have the best record in the NBA— thanks to a little help from the Celtics and Cavaliers.

Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 19 and Los Angeles beat the Portland Trail Blazers 100-86 Sunday night for its sixth consecutive victory and 15th straight at home.

The defending Western Conference champions realize that not having homecourt advantage against the Celtics in last year’s finals probably cost them the NBA title, and they want to do something about it this time around. They are 27-5, one fewer loss than Boston and Cleveland.

The Cavaliers and Celtics each lost Sunday to bottom teams in the East. Boston was beat by the Knicks and Cleveland fell to Washington.

“It’s obviously important to have homecourt advantage, so we look at it as a challenge to achieve that goal,” Bryant said. “Obviously we have a long way to go. It’s a great opportunity. We have quite a few home games here, so we look forward to trying to stretch this out a little bit. We have plenty more gears to go to. Plenty more. I haven’t even played in third gear yet.”

LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 22 points and 11 rebounds, as all five starters scored in double figures. But the Blazers shot only 39 percent overall.

“They are a good group, and they are on a mission,” Portland coach Nate McMillan said. “They definitely know what they need to do to win, and right now everybody is healthy for them. Phil (Jackson) can push a lot of buttons and he has a lot of different combinations that he can go with, as far as playing big or small.”

Facing the Trail Blazers for the first time since a season-opening, 96-76 win—Portland’s lowest point total ever against the Lakers—Los Angeles pulled away with a 15-3 run that increased its four-point lead to 75-59 with 2:12 left in the third quarter.

“They came out with the momentum in the third quarter and took over the game,” Aldridge said. “A lot of guys had open shots. We just didn’t make them. Kobe kind of took over and did what he does.”

Bryant and Gasol got the Lakers’ pivotal rally going with 16-foot jumpers, Derek Fisher added a 3-pointer and Sasha Vujacic capped the rally with a four-point play—converting the free throw after Rudy Fernandez fouled him on a 3-pointer.

“I like that play a lot,” Vujacic said. “Sometimes I’m worried that if the guy’s not very cautious or if he comes to me at a high speed, I’ve got to kind to jump back because I can sprain my ankle. So it’s not easy. In the first half, he kind of threw himself into my legs on my pick-and-roll with Andrew (Bynum), so I knew he was going to foul me on that play and I kind of isolated him and just took a shot.”

Vujacic, playing despite a case of tonsillitis, had 11 points in 26 minutes. Vladimir Radmanovic had 16 points off the bench for the Lakers, 12 of them in the fourth quarter. Portland made only three of 14 shots during the first 6:06 of the quarter, all of them 3-pointers, and never got closer than 14 points.

“It’s always a good sign to be on top, but you just can’t relax,” Gasol said. “There’s too many games and too much competition to just relax and get comfortable and be satisfied with the best record.”

The Lakers, hoping to get out to a fast start against a Portland lineup missing leading scorer Brandon Roy because of an injured right hamstring, didn’t take their first lead until Trevor Ariza’s two free throws put them ahead 51-50 with 52.5 seconds left in the first half. Portland led 25-19 through one quarter after forcing nine turnovers—all of them in a 7:25 span and one fewer than the Lakers had in Friday’s win over Utah.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol (16), of Spain, gets around Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden (52) in second half of a NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009, in Los Angeles. Lakers won 100-86.

“It happens every once in a while,” Bryant said. “Sometimes the rhythm isn’t there, you can’t quite get a handle on the ball and the team that you’re playing against is playing extremely well with a lot of energy. So you just have to put a stop to it somehow. But some of those turnovers were self-inflicted.”

The Lakers have defeated four of the teams that have beaten the defending champion Celtics—Portland, Golden State, Denver and New York. The only club to beat both of last year’s NBA finalists is Indiana. … Portland forced an average of 13.4 turnovers through their previous 33 games this season. The Lakers finished with 14 despite the sloppy start. … The Lakers have won 18 of their last 20 home games against Portland and five in a row. … Lakers F Luke Walton didn’t play because of inflammation in the big toe on his right foot. … The Lakers haven’t allowed more than 23 points by an opposing player in seven straight games. Yahoo! Sports