They survived the hype by playing with intensity in a much-anticipated showdown on Christmas Day on national television.
Now the Lakers must move past that, move past a stirring victory over the NBA champion Celtics, move past ending Boston's 19-game winning streak.
The Lakers play the Golden State Warriors tonight at Staples Center and that has to be their focus, their drive toward keeping the momentum built not only on having defeated the Celtics but on keeping their three-game winning streak alive.
"I don't know if any game ever matches just the excitement, the pomp and circumstance of Christmas afternoon," Derek Fisher admitted. "I mean, the fans were there at 1 o'clock and the game was at 2. So tomorrow nobody is going to be there at 5:30 [for a 6:30 game]. It's just different. We understand that."
The Lakers can look at how the Celtics lost to the Warriors on Friday night in Oakland as an indicator of what can happen to them.
Lakers Coach Phil Jackson was asked if it will be easy for his team to move forward after the victory over Boston.
"I don't think so," Jackson said. "I think the distinction in the game means a lot to the players. I just don't want them to be flat in a ballgame that matters to us.
"We have to realize what happened to the Celtics last night. We know it's something that could very easily happen to us."
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Too many minutes?
Fisher's playing time has increased substantially since backup point guard Jordan Farmar went down because of a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, and that is a concern for Jackson.
In his last four games, Fisher has averaged 39 minutes. For the season, Fisher's average has increased to 29.5 minutes a game. When asked if having Fisher, 34, play 41, 41, 39 and then 35 minutes in his last four games was too much, Jackson was emphatic.
"Oh, yeah," Jackson said. "I think it takes an extra amount of strength out of him these last three or four games. We're looking at what we can do to alleviate the time that he's been spending on the court."
Jackson would like to limit Fisher to no more than 35 minutes a game.
"It wears," Jackson said.
The Lakers play two games in the next six days, so the rest will help Fisher.
But then the schedule gets heavy, when the Lakers will play 15 games over 28 days, including four games in six days.
Farmar, who had surgery on his knee Wednesday, is expected to be out eight weeks.
