So Far, the Celtics Have Had Bryant's Number

BOSTON, June 6 -- At what point does the Boston Celtics' success in defending Kobe Bryant become a concern? At what point does it go from being an oddity to becoming a trend? At what point does Bryant start having flashbacks to his last trip to the NBA Finals in 2004, when the Detroit Pistons' mix of long-armed Tayshaun Prince and energetic Richard Hamilton made life difficult for him?

Bryant hasn't reached that point yet.

When he looks at what the Celtics have done against him through two regular season games and in Game 1 on Thursday, he has but one thought.

"Hopefully, it just means I'm due," said Bryant, who has been held to just 33 percent shooting (24 of 72) against Boston this season.

Neither Bryant nor Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson seemed worried that Bryant -- with his relentless competitive drive and ability -- wouldn't be able to break out of his shooting slump against Boston. It could happen as soon as Sunday in Game 2 at TD Banknorth Garden.

But in the Lakers' 98-88 loss on Thursday, Bryant needed 26 shots to score 24 points -- nearly eight points less than his playoff average. He also committed four turnovers, one while picking up an offensive foul for charging into slow-footed Sam Cassell.

Bryant said that most of his 17 missed shots were ones he normally makes -- the turnaround jumper in the post, the pull-up three-pointer, the fadeaway to shake two defenders. "I want those looks again," Bryant said. "I get those again, I'm foaming at the mouth."

When told that Bryant wouldn't credit the Celtics for making him miss those shots, James Posey smiled and said, "I agree with him."

The Celtics don't want to rile up the league's most valuable player, because he is a two-time scoring champion who once scored 81 points in one game. But Ray Allen said his team, which has allowed the fewest points per game in the playoffs, has grown in each round, going from Atlanta's Joe Johnson to Cleveland's LeBron James to Detroit's Hamilton and Prince. James, who beat out Bryant for the scoring title this season, shot just 35.5 percent in seven games against Boston.

"I think the first three series have prepared us for these moments here," Allen said. "You have to worry about those guys because they're definitely capable of putting up big numbers. But you can't lose sight of who has the ball. You can't lose sight of them getting easy layups or getting rebounds. So we definitely have learned a lot of lessons. I think we'd just like to continue to make our men make tough shots."

Jackson said Bryant was contested toughly on less than five of his attempts, but he credited the Celtics for making Bryant a jump-shooter by using secondary defenders such as Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins or P.J. Brown to keep him from the lane. Bryant had just two shots in the paint -- one was an alley-oop dunk on a fast break -- and he shot just six free throws.

"Foul shots are really important for scoring, and again, they eliminated a lot of his ability to get to the foul line. So there's some things they did very well," Jackson said. "But as we all saw, there was a lot of shots there that just didn't go down for him that were in and out. So that's a matter of understanding his baskets, getting a touch on them and figuring it out."

Bryant scored 28 points on 9-of-21 shooting in Boston's 107-94 home victory on Nov. 23. He missed 19 of 25 shots (including all six attempts from three-point range) while scoring 22 points in Boston's 110-91 win in Los Angeles on Dec. 30. Bryant said he watched film of the Lakers' regular season games against the Celtics "just to torture myself."

The Lakers have added Pau Gasol since those games, making them a more efficient offensive team, but watching film from Thursday's game had to make Bryant squeamish again. Gasol and Lamar Odom, who have spent time alternating as the Lakers' second option this postseason, combined for 29 points and 14 rebounds, but neither could compensate for an off night for Bryant.

Bryant sat for a long stretch in the fourth quarter. When he returned with 5 minutes 48 seconds left, he had taken twice as many shots as any teammate but still failed to have an impact. He went 1 for 6 in the fourth quarter, and the precision passing and ball movement that helped the Lakers build a five-point first-half lead grew stagnant while Bryant's teammates became spectators.

"We have to do a better job at getting everyone involved throughout the game, so if he does go, we're right there to pick him up," Odom said.

The Lakers were held to just 41.6 percent shooting -- including 33 percent in the second half. The Lakers also missed 11 of 14 shots from beyond the three-point line. The Lakers are averaging a postseason-high 104.8 points, but they are 1-2 when they fail to score at least 90 points, so they need to find a way to push the tempo and get some easier baskets. They had two fast-break points in Game 1. Hello, Slowtime.

"We've got to set some steals, get out on transition, rebound the ball, push it and try to limit their opportunities," Bryant said. "We'll make our adjustments and do a much better job in the second game."