Lakers-Celtics: Leon Powe, Celtics Hold off Kobe Bryant And The Lakers

The Celtics may be leaving their comfortable home in Boston, but are now up 2-0 in the series, which may bring them their 17^th NBA Championship.

The 2-0 lead was up for grabs, but Boston worked hard for it late in the game.

While the Celtics outplayed the Lakes in three quarters, the 83-61 advantage boosted Boston.

The lead was stretched to 24, with eight minutes left in the game.

When everyone seemed to think the game was over, including the Celtics, Bryant and the Lakers brought it on.

After pulling off an unprecedented 31-9 run after two of Bryant’s free throws, the lead was two with 38.4 seconds left.

As it was in the first quarter, the game was up for the taking, by anybody.

Boston brought the ball up the court and Pierce drew a foul.

Pierce, with his knee injury from Game One, had no problems sprinting up and down the court for 41 minutes, Sunday night.

Pierce drained both of his free throws to make the Boston’s lead by four.

He contributed again on the defense by blocking a three-point attempt by Sasha Vujacic to effectively end the game.

"We're happy because we won, but we definitely learned a lesson," Pierce said after the game.

The furious comeback the Lakers mounted late in the game was something they will have to do more often.

"It's something that we can take from," Bryant said of the 31-9 run late in the game. "We played with a sense of desperation and aggression. I think that's something to take home and learn from."

The general consensus from around the league is that the officiating was one-sided— Boston had a total of 38 free throws, while Los Angeles had only 10.

"I didn't notice," Bryant said of the free-throw shooting discrepancy, breaking into a smile.

The unsung hero for Boston was, little used, Leon Powe. He scored 21 points in the 15 minutes of action, and grabbed two rebounds.

Garnett, Allen, and Pierce combined for a monstrous 62 points, but only 20 rebounds.

Bryant had 30 points, four rebounds, and eight assists during 40 minutes.

Pau Gasol had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Lamar Odom had 10 points and eight rebounds, and Vladimir Radmanovic scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Game Three will be held in Los Angeles on Tuesday.