Basketball: Lakers score 102 to defeat the Celtics in Game 1 of the 2010 NBA Finals

June 4, 2010 In basketball, hit a three-pointer late in the fourth quarter to lift the  to a 102–89 victory over the  in Game 1 of the  Thursday night in Los Angeles, California. Bryant scored 30 points in the game to lead all scorers. Bryant was backed-up by a 23-point, 14-rebound effort from and 15 points from. For Boston, had 24 points and  had 16 points.

"They were the more physical team by far," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said after the game, according to the Associated Press. "They were more aggressive. They attacked us the entire night. I didn't think we handled it very well."

While both teams have displayed consistent defensive showing, Boston could not match L.A.'s output.

"You can't ease into the game, especially in the finals," Pierce said, according to the Associated Press. "That's one of the better rebounding teams in the NBA. We've just got to do a better job rebounding the ball, eliminating easy opportunities. When I look up and we've given up 100 points, I haven't seen that in a while."

The first quarter was fairly evenly matched, ending 26–21 in favor of the Lakers. At one point the Lakers were up 16–10, but Boston was able to close to within one point. Late points by and  built the lead to five in the final minute and the Lakers had the chance to go up by more, but  missed a six-foot jump-shot.

In the second quarter, both team remained close until late in the quarter when the Lakers opened an 12-point lead late in the final minute. With just two tenths of a second on the clock, Boston's hit a three-pointer to bring the score to within nine: 50–41.

At the half, Bryant told ABC Sports that the team done okay in the first half.

"We blew a couple of assignments," Bryant, who had 12 points in the half, said of the Celtics defense. "We felt like we could have stretched the game a bit more."

In the third quarter, the Lakers continued to pull away from the Celtics, outpacing them by 11 points. With 28 seconds left in the quarter, Artest hit a three-pointer to put Los Angeles up 84–64. Bryant had 14 points in the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Los Angeles could not extend their lead and in the first four minutes Boston went on a 10-3 run to close the gap to 13 points. Both team scored two more points before Gosol slammed home what turned out to be the game-winning points with 6:20 left to put the Lakers up 91–76. In the final six minutes, Boston outscored the Lakers 13–11, but it was not enough to bring the game back to single digits.

Both Pierce and Ray Allen fouled-out for the Celtics. Odam fouled-out for Los Angeles.

This series is the 12th between the two franchises, dating back to 1959, with the Celtics leading the series 9–2. The Minneapolis Lakers first appeared in the Basketball Association of America &mdash; the precursor to the NBA &mdash; defeating the Washington Capitols 4–2. The next year, Minneapolis defeated Syracuse Nationals 4–2 in the first NBA. The Celtics first played in the NBA finals in 1957, defeating the St. Louis Hawks 4–3.

In 1959, the Lakers and Celtics first faced each other in the Finals. The Celtics won the series 4–0. In 1962, the Lakers &mdash; now in Los Angeles &mdash; met for the second time &mdash; this time winning 4–3. It was not until the eighth meeting &mdash; in 1985 &mdash; did the Lakers win.

Before the start of the game, NBA Commisioner David Stern commented on the historic rivalry.

"When I first became commissioner in the '80s," Stern told the Los Angeles Times, "I thought what you did every June is you went from L.A. to Boston and back again, and it was interesting to watch. And now here we are again."

The best-of-seven series resumes Sunday night at Los Angeles'.