The Los Angeles Lakers went to their inside game against the smaller Chicago Bulls. The strategy worked to perfection. Pau Gasol scored 24 of his season-high 34 points in the first half, Andrew Bynum added 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots, and the Lakers rebounded from their first loss of the season with a 116-109 victory over the Bulls on Tuesday night.

Down after one quarter, two and even three, the Los Angeles Lakers found themselves in an unfamiliar place. Yet even with the Dallas Mavericks getting terrific games out of Jason Kidd and Erick Dampier, Kobe Bryant and friends found a way to pull out another one. Trevor Ariza turned an offensive rebound into an emphatic, go-ahead dunk early in the fourth quarter and added an equally emphatic block in the final minute to help the Lakers pull out a 106-99 victory over the Mavericks on Tuesday night. Los Angeles improved to 6-0, its best start since going 7-0 in 2001-02 - which also was the last time the Lakers won the championship.

For the 17th time in franchise history, the Boston Celtics are NBA Champions. The 2008 Celtics brought an end to their storied franchise’s 21-year championship drought with the most lopsided closeout win in NBA Finals history on Tuesday night, blowing out the Lakers, 131-92. Leading just 32-29 midway through the second quarter, the Celtics scored 11 straight points and finished the half on on a 26-6 run. In the second half, Boston’s 58-35 halftime lead only grew. Clearly, the Celtics had had enough close games. Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett each scored a game-high 26 points and Rajon Rondo added 20 as the Celtics came up just three points shy of the NBA Finals record for largest margin of victory.

Per la 17esima volta nella sua storia Boston ha conquistato l’anello dell’Nba, il campionato professionistico di basket americano. In gara-6 della finale, sul parquet di casa del Banknorth Garden, i Celtics hanno sconfitto i Los Angeles Lakers 131-92, chiudendo i conti sul 4-2. Ottima prova di Kevin Garnett (22 punti, 14 rimbalzi e 4 assist) e di Ray Allen (26 punti, 4 rimbalzi e 2 assist), mentre tra i Lakers il top-scorer e’ stato Kobe Bryant, con 22 punti a referto. Era dal 1986 che i Celtics - che hanno vinto il maggior numero di campionati Nba - non si aggiudicavano il titolo.

The Lakers almost let another large lead slip away, but in Game 5 they found a way to get it done. With the Celtics on pace to pull off another miraculous comeback, Kobe Bryant swiped the ball away from Paul Pierce and finished with a two-handed slam on the other end with 37.4 seconds left to seal a Lakers’ 103-98 Game 5 home victory on Sunday. Bryant finished with 25 points, while Lamar Odom added 20 and 11 rebounds.

Los Angeles batte 103-98 i Celtics, che conducono 3-2 nella serie, e ora si torna a Boston per decidere chi sarà campione. Bryant, Gasol e Odom in evidenza, agli ospiti non bastano 38 punti di Pierce.

The Lakers will be thinking about this one that got away for a long time. And they may have even more off-season time to dwell on it, as a result. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen led the charge as the Celtics erased an 18-point halftime deficit with a miraculous second-half effort in a 97-91 win over Los Angeles in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at the STAPLES Center on Thursday. Boston also takes a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. The C’s can claim their 17th championship with a victory in Game 5 on Sunday. The Game 4 loss was the Lakers’ first defeat at home this postseason. No team has ever recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the finals.

Quello di Boston è il più grande recupero nella storia delle finali Nba: 24 punti il vantaggio massimo dei Lakers, che poi vengono superati 97-91 in un finale gestito da Pierce e C. con grande freddezza. Eroe della serata il sesto uomo James Posey (18 punti).

Historically, a 3-0 series deficit in basketball has been insurmountable, so one could certainly argue that the Lakers were facing elimination on Tuesday night. Kobe Bryant – though he was calm throughout, never desperate – certainly seemed to understand the urgency. He scored a game-high 36 points as his Lakers beat the Celtics, 87-81, and climbed back into the series.

C’è finale. I Lakers la riaprono, almeno in parte, vincendo gara-3 (87-81) in casa, grazie allo straordinario contributo dalla panchina dell’ex udinese Sasha Vujacic (20 punti con 7/10 al tiro, 3/5 da tre, in 27’), oltre alla solita partita super di Kobe Bryant (36 punti con 12/20 e 11/18 ai liberi). Boston spreca una buona occasione, essendosi trovata avanti di 5 nel 3° periodo e a -2 con 2’40″ da giocare.

With a fabulous start and a frantic finish, the Boston Celtics are two wins away from their 17th NBA championship. The Celtics nearly squandered an outstanding all-around performance, a 24-point lead and control of The NBA Finals before regrouping in the last minute for a 108-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 on Sunday night.

Gara-2, finali Nba: i Celtics dominano quasi tutta la partita prima della rimonta di Los Angeles. Ma alla fine è vittoria 108-102 per Pierce e compagni. Ora la serie si trasferisce in California.

The Boston Celtics rolled to a 98-88 win over the Los Angeles Lakers to win Game One of the NBA finals at Boston’s TD Banknorth Garden, opening another chapter in professional basketball’s most storied rivalry. Kevin Garnett (pictured above with the Lakers’ Pau Gasol), playing in his first NBA finals, had 24 points to lead the Celtics but it was captain Paul Pierce who turned the tide, scoring 15 third-quarter points after injuring his knee and leaving the court in a wheelchair. Boston had been given a scare in the third quarter when their leading scorer collided with a team-mate and crumpled to the floor clutching his right knee but Pierce made a dramatic return to finish with 22 points after scoring three in the opening half.

Passata la paura, Boston prende il volo. I Celtics vincono 98-88 gara 1 di finale Nba grazie al fantastico 3° quarto, da 15 punti, di Paul Pierce, rientrato dopo essere uscito a braccia con quello che si temeva poter essere un grave infortunio al ginocchio destro, rivelatosi poi uno stiramento. Ai Lakers non bastano i 24 punti di Kobe. Importante il dominio a rimbalzo dei biancoverdi: 46-33.