Game One Action

Game Two: Sparked by Ray Allen's historic 3-point shooting barrage (11 of 20), Boston came out much more aggressively, but LA fought back. The game was tied at 72 entering the fourth period. Led by Rajon Rondo's 10 points, the Celtics outscored the Lakers 31-22 to even the series.

Game Two Action

Game Five: Boston led 50-39 early in the third quarter, but the Lakers cut the lead to eight. But with no Laker scoring more than 12 points except Kobe Bryant with 38, the Celtics finally broke the alternating-wins streak of the first four games to take their first lead in the Series.

Game Five action

Unfortunately for the Celtics, Perkins' sprained right knee would keep him out of the final game. The oddsmakers established the Lakers as seven-point favorites. The Lakers had never beaten the Celtics in a Game 7.

Game Seven

If you had been told before the game that the Lakers would shoot only 32.5% and all the Celtics starters would score in double digits, you'd bet any money Boston would win. Perkins was sorely missed as the Lakers won the rebounding 53-40.

• Quarter 1
  The defenses prevailed as the officials allowed lots of contact, which suited the Celtics style of play. With Kobe Bryant hitting only one of seven shots–and that one a layin off a beautiful pass–Boston held the Lakers to just 14 points despite being outrebounded. The Celtics scored the last nine points of the period. In the previous six games of the Series, the team that won the first quarter won the game. But ABC commentator Mark Jackson said he couldn't remember seeing Bryant play a worse 12 minutes in a game. He forced shots and took too many dribbles to get in position to shoot, which led to turnovers. Celtics 23 Lakers 14
  
• Quarter 2
  Ron Artest came off the bench and sparked the Lakers' 9-0 run, getting a putback on LA's 11th offensive rebound followed by a steal and a layup to tie the game at 23. Then he got another offensive rebound and putback to put the Lakers ahead as the Celtics went nearly five minutes without scoring. The visitors took a three-point lead only to have Artest hit a three from the corner to knot the count at 29. However, the Celtics outscored the Lakers 11-5 the rest of the quarter. Bryant and Gasol were a combined six of 26 on field goal attempts. Without Artest, who entered Game 7 averaging nine points on 35.2% shooting in the Finals but contributed 12 points and three steals in the quarter, the Lakers would have been in bad shape. They shot only 27% (13-49) in the first half. With so many missed shots, they led in offensive rebounds 15-2 and in second chance points 9-2. Celtics 40 Lakers 34

Kobe Bryant tries to drive around Ray Allen.

• Quarter 3
  After the teams traded baskets, with Artest scoring again for the Lakers, the Celtics went on 7-0 run for their largest lead of the game, 49-36. Bryant's free throw ended the streak, then he hit a jumper to cut the lead to 49-39. No one would have recognized it at the time, but momentum was slowly flowing LA's way. Gasol spun in the lane and laid in a basket with his left hand, but Garnett answered to make it 51-41 Celtics. Derek Fisher sank a jump shot, and Lamar Odom off the bench got a put back to end an 8-2 LA run to close to 51-45. The teams traded baskets until Gasol blocked Garnett's shot in the lane, then made two free throws to make it 56-51 Boston with 2:30 left in the quarter. A Rondo free throw and another Odum follow up closed the quarter. Celtics 57 Lakers 53
  
• Quarter 4
  As the heavyweight slugfest went into the final period, Bryant had made only five of 20 shots. He partially made up for his poor offensive showing by guarding the lightning-quick Rondo all series, keeping him out of the lane and knocking his averages down from 15 points and nine assists a game in the first three rounds of the playoffs to 13-7.
  Gasol picked up some of the slack. Derided as soft so often in previous seasons, he fought for every rebound, twisted and turned to fight off defendes who elbowed and hacked and tried to body him out of the play, barging through Boston's grinding defense to pull down a game-high 18 rebounds and score 19 points for his third straight double-double performance and fifth in the Finals.
  The teams traded baskets as the defenses gave up points grudgingly. During a timeout with nine minutes to play, the LA fans began chanting "Kobe, Kobe."
  Bryant was fouled shooting a three-pointer and sank all three freebies to pull LA within one point at the 8:46 mark.
  Gasol missed two free throws with 6:49 left in the game. Then Pao passed out of the post to Derek Fisher for a three-pointer that brought the Lakers even at 64 with 6:12. They would never trail again.
  Bryant's 17-footer gave the Lakers a 68-64 with 5:22 left. It would be his only field goal in the quarter, but he would deliver from the free-throw line, making eight of nine during the period. "I wanted it so, so bad," Bryant said. "The more I tried to push, the more it kept getting away from me. I'm just glad that my teammates really got us back in the game."
  
  With the Lakers playing smothering defense, Gasol sank two free throws to finish a 9-0 run and give LA a 70-64 edge with 4:38 left. After misses on both ends, Rondo passed to Pierce who sank a two-pointer. 70-66.
  Bryant drove to the rim and was fouled by Pierce. Kobe missed the first but made the second free throw. 71-66. Garnett's field goal but the lead back to three. Bryant passed to Gasol in the lane. His head fake got Garnett off the floor, and Gasol jumped and drew the foul. He calmly sank both free throws with 2:47 left for a 73-68 lead. Playing the game of his life, Artest rebounded Wallace's miss, and Gasol made one of two freebies. 74-68.
  Artest then committed a foolish foul far from the basket, and Pierce sank both free throws. 74-70 with 2:14 to go. Odom missed, and Bryant rebounded. Gasol pushed underneath and laid it in to make 76-70 at the 1:30 mark.
  But Wallace sank a three-pointer to pull Boston within three again. Needing a stop to get a chance to tie or pull within one point, the Celtics instead watched Artest sink a key three-pointer, "a bullet from the right side," with 1:01 left to restore the Lakers' six-point edge. Jackson said afterward that Artest was the game's MVP because "he brought life to our team, he brought life to the crowd."
  But the Celtics wouldn't go away. Allen hit a three to again reduce the margin to three, 79-76. Bryant missed a three, but Gasol rebounded, the Lakers' 23rd offensive board, and got the ball to Bryant, who was fouled with 25.7 seconds on the clock. Kobe hit both to make it 81-76. Then it was Rondo's turn to hit a three, his first of the game. 81-79. Phil Jackson took a timeout to advance the ball to midcourt. He also substituted Sasha Vujacic, a 6'7" point guard. Why him at this crucial moment in the game? He was an excellent free throw shooter–84.8% for the season, second only to Derek Fisher's 85.6%. The six-year veteran took the inbounds pass and was immediately fouled. He cooly sank both to ice the game with 4.7 seconds left. Rondo missed a desperation three, and the celebration began for the Lakers' 14th NBA title.
  FINAL SCORE: LAKERS 83 CELTICS 79

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Postgame

Celtics Locker Room
Doc Rivers: "There is a lot of crying in the locker room. There are a lot of people who care. Not a dry eye. ... I can't stress how crazy close this team is. It's the type of group that can scream at each other and then get along." He added, "It was exactly the type of game we wanted except for the final score. It goes to show you that you can have an 83-79 game, and it can be a great game because both teams played great defense. It was tough getting shots. I thought the lack of size at the end of the day was the difference in the game. Give the Lakers credit. They were terrific."
Boston General Manager Danny Ainge: "These guys, they really are champions. They played hard. They really stepped it up when they needed to."

Lakers Locker Room
Phil Jackson won his 11th title as a coach, six with the Bulls and five with the Lakers. "I thought our defense was terrific. We were able to step in and play the kind of defense that we've established as a kind of calling for this team, and we found a way to generate some points."
Kobe Bryant: "This one is by far the sweetest, because it's them. This was the hardest one by far. I wanted it so bad, and sometimes when you want it so bad, it slips away from you. ... Let's go for it again." Asked about his injured knee that was drained of fluid earlier in the playoffs, Kobe responded, "It felt good enough to get through the playoffs. I'm obviously going to have to look at the knee and figure some things out. I can't play a whole entire season the way it is now. Same thing with the (broken) finger. You know, without the tape, I can't grip a basketball."
Pao Gasol: "It's just like I'm living in a different dimension. If I could get a genie and ask for a wish, this would be my wish, as far as my basketball life and career."
While playing for Indiana in 2004, Ron Artest was suspended for 84 games by Commissioner David Stern for his part in a brawl at the end of a game against the Detroit Pistons. Ever an enigmatic figure, he said, "I'd like to thank my psychiatrist." He also thanked Stern for "helping me turn my life around." (Artest would later change his name to Metta World Peace.)

Participants in the 2010 NBA Finals who are in the Basketball Hall of Fame:
Celtics: Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce
Lakers: Kobe Bryant

2009-10 Los Angeles Lakers

2009-10 Boston Celtics