Celtics

Lakers tonight VS. BOSTON Time: 7:30. On the air: TV: TNT; Radio: 710, 1330. Where: Staples Center. Records: Lakers 42-13, Celtics 33-18. Record vs. Celtics: 1-0. Update: The Celtics broke a two-game losing streak with a 95-92 victory Tuesday at Sacramento. Kevin Garnett had nine points and nine rebounds. The Lakers won in Boston, 90-89, on Jan. 31 after Kobe Bryant hit a go-ahead 16-footer over Ray Allen with 7.3 seconds to play.

Paul Pierce talks a big game, always. Considerable street credit flowed his way in 2008 when he backed it up, leading his team to a title over the Lakers and grabbing the Finals most valuable player trophy in the process. Two years later, in the Finals against the same opponent, his talk hasn't tempered, but his play had to the absolute utmost until Thursday night. In the Celtics' 96-89 Game 4 win over the Lakers, Pierce, the Celtics' captain, carried them early and finished it late.

at Boston 103, Indiana 94: Paul Pierce missed his first 10 shots but scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, including seven in a row, to put the Celtics ahead for good. Pierce finished with 21 points. Troy Murphy had 24 points and a season-high 18 rebounds for the Pacers. at Washington 105, Philadelphia 98: Gilbert Arenas scored the game's first seven points and finished the first quarter with 15 on the way to a game-high 31 points for the Wizards. Elton Brand led the 76ers with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

at Phoenix 116, Boston 98: Amare Stoudemire and Channing Frye each scored 26 points, and the Suns handed what was left of the Celtics their third loss in a row. Kevin Garnett (hyperextended knee) joined Paul Pierce on the bench, and without Garnett to guard him, Stoudemire made nine of 10 shots in the first quarter. at Orlando 117, Milwaukee 92: Vince Carter scored 25 points and shook off a hard collision late in the third quarter to spark a 17-2 run for the Magic. at New Jersey 104, New York 95: Brook Lopez had 21 points and 14 rebounds and the Nets ended a 10-game losing streak, their second double-digit streak of the season.

Point Guards: Derek Fisher vs. Rajon Rondo. Fisher may be 35, but he has been solid once again for the Lakers in the playoffs. Rondo, 24, is the key for the Celtics. He's an elite offensive rebounder for a guard. He's a north-south penetrator. He's a poor jump shooter and free-throw shooter. But he's very good at getting steals. Advantage: Celtics. Shooting guards: Kobe Bryant vs. Ray Allen. Bryant is the best player on the planet. Since getting his right knee drained, Bryant has played perhaps the best basketball of his career.

Just when all of us in Lakerland thought it was safe to go back in the water, along came another Celtics shark, chomping on our self-satisfaction. It was a perfect Southern California summer night in Beverly Hills on Thursday. Nice charity dinner, great cause, more basketball stars in the room than you'll see on NBA All-Star weekend. As Jerry West said, "There is more star power here than at the ESPYs." And he, of course, would be counted in that. Yes, there was plenty to feel good about, and certainly no expectation that somebody from the city where they call a park a pawk would steal the limelight.

You guys still here? When the going gets tough, as when they lose Game 1 knowing the other coach is 47-0 when his teams win the opener, the tough get going. Either that, or the tough say, "This is still a best-of-seven, right? "That game counts as one, right?" "That means they still have to beat us three more times, right?" "WE CAN DO THIS!!!" Not that the Celtics are approaching Game 2 that way. They're not only not worried about Phil Jackson's streak, they thought it was funny when the subject came up Friday.

Count the championship banners. One, two, three, four and still much more. Go all the way up to 16, green, white and hovering over today's Celtics from the ancient rafters of the Boston Garden. Then stop. Check the championship smiles. The bubbly Magic, grinning broadly moments after the Los Angeles Lakers won their second straight NBA title only seven months ago. Even the dour Kareem, exulting in that back-to-back feat last achieved in 1969. Now cut to the present.

There doesn't appear to be a big difference between scoring 49 points and scoring 50. For Latrell Sprewell and the New York Knicks, it was the difference between a win and a loss. Antoine Walker scored a season-high 42 points, and Boston caught a break when Sprewell missed a foul shot late in regulation that would have given him 50 as the Celtics beat the New York Knicks, 102-93, in overtime Tuesday night. It was the Celtics' seventh win in eight games.

at Golden State 103, Boston 99: Monta Ellis scored 37 points and made two free throws with 2.3 seconds left, and the Warriors rallied from an early 18-point deficit to hand the Celtics their second two-game losing streak this season. Boston lost to the Clippers on Sunday, ending a nine-game road win streak. Rajon Rondo had 30 points and 15 assists for the Celtics, who were without the injured Paul Pierce. Philadelphia 104, at Portland 93: Elton Brand had a season-high 25 points and nine rebounds in a reserve role, and the 76ers surprised the Trail Blazers.