Lakers fall for this one

The Celtics' Kevin Garnett said Pierce "gave everybody life. I could tell that everybody was rejuvenated."

Said the Lakers' Kobe Bryant: "We got a little stagnant."

According to Pierce, doctors have diagnosed him with a strained meniscus, with his chances of playing in Game 2 on Sunday unknown.

As for the Lakers, in the end, it was their reliable attack and steady defense that seemed injured.

Bryant's jump shot was strained. He put up 26 attempts and made just nine, forcing shots as if feeling the pressure of his first NBA Finals game without Shaquille O'Neal.

Some of it was the new Celtics bumping him away from the basket. But some of it was the old Bryant just being impatient.

"I said to him, check it out, he had some guys open in other parts of the offense, but he said he had some good looks," Jackson said. "You live on that. That's going to happen."

In other words, Jackson is cutting his league MVP some slack. For now.

"They're going to be determined and not let me get to the paint, particularly in the half court," Bryant said. "Those little mid-range jumpers that I get, I've got to knock those in."

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Then there was the Lakers' inside presence, which was also strained, Pau Gasol being pounded by Garnett while Lamar Odom simply disappeared at times.

The low-light was a soaring dunk by Garnett over a confused Gasol in the game's final minutes.

All those "Beat L.A." chants that began in the streets outside the TD Banknorth Garden long before the game?

On this night, it was Garnett who did the beating.

"We didn't get after the ball on the board and opportunities that were there for us," said Jackson. "They did a much better job on the boards. That's the difference in the ballgame."

That, and this angel that somehow transformed a shattered kneecap into a soaring jump shot into a scintillating victory.

No official word on this yet, but here's guessing that angel smoked a cigar and answered to Red.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com.

To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.