Celtics Beat Lakers in Renewal of Rivalry

Boston 107, Los Angeles 94

Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant (24) drives past Boston Celtics' Ray Allen (20) in the second quarter of a NBA basketball game, Friday, Nov. 23, 2007, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) (Michael Dwyer - AP)

BOSTON -- Kevin Garnett had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead the new Big Three in its first game against the rival Lakers, and Paul Pierce added 20 points and nine assists to help the Boston Celtics beat Los Angeles 107-94 on Friday night.

Kobe Bryant scored 28 points for Los Angeles, which got no help from having California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sitting courtside. Instead, the Celtics fired up the crowd for the renewal of the rivalry by putting a muscle-bound clip of Schwarzenegger's movie "Predator" on the scoreboard.

Kendrick Perkins had 21 points and nine rebounds for Boston, which improved to 10-1 overall and 7-0 at home. Ray Allen had 18 points, and Rajon Rondo 10 assists for the Celtics.

The Lakers scored eight straight points in the fourth quarter to get within single digits, 94-85, with 4:53 left. But Bryant missed one free throw at 96-86, and Perkins muscled his way to the basket at the other end, then got the rebound after putting a hand in Andrew Bynum's face.

After trading possessions, Rondo hit Allen for a 3-pointer. The Lakers cut it to 101-91, but Rondo found Garnett for the jumper, then Allen was fouled on the breakaway and hit both free throws with 52 seconds left to make it a 14-point game.

Bryant was booed often by the crowd, which even mustered a "Beat L.A.!" chant reminiscent of the days when the old Boston Garden and the old Big Three of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish seemed to host the Lakers in the NBA finals every summer.

Those Celtics and the Lakers of Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dominated the NBA in the 1980s: From '80-88, the two rivals won all but one of the nine NBA championships -- three for Boston, five for Los Angeles (one for the Philadelphia 76ers) -- and met for the title three times in four years.

But it hasn't been much of a rivalry lately.

The Celtics missed the playoffs for six consecutive seasons from 1996-2001, while the Lakers were building a mini-dynasty under Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Los Angeles won three straight titles from 2000-02; the Celtics lost in the '02 Eastern Conference finals and missed a chance to renew the rivalry with the Lakers for the title.

The Lakers won both meetings last season, when the Celtics were more interested in landing the top pick in the NBA draft, and seven of the last 10 overall.

The Celtics went out to an early lead, and they did it with a little showtime.

Boston led 15-10 before scoring eight straight points, getting an alley-oop dunk from Pierce to Garnett followed by Pierce's steal and fast-break layup. Pierce then sent Allen on a fast break to give the Celtics a 23-10 lead with 3:05 left in the first.

The Lakers brought it down to five points before Boston scored 10 in a row to make it 40-25 midway through the second quarter. The Celtics took the lead to 22 points in the third and never by less than nine in the fourth.

Bryant scored eight points in the first quarter but missed his only shot in the second.

Notes: In the first quarter, Pierce became the ninth player in Celtics history to play over 25,000 minutes. The other eight have all had their numbers retired by the team, and all but Jo Jo White are in the Hall of Fame. John Havlicek is the team's career leader with 46,471. ... Ray Allen surpassed the 30,000 minute milestone for his career and is 103rd in NBA history. ... Other celebrities in the crowd: Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver; Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo; former Celtic and Laker Rick Fox and New England Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour.