Sports: BasketballUSA: LA Lakers win over Boston Celtics, take National Basketball Association's Finals

Lakers beat Celtics to win NBA championship
by Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Lakers came back from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 to win the NBA championship Thursday evening. Kobe Bryant scored 23 points and Ron Artest logged 20 points in front of a hometown crowd to give the Lakers their fifth NBA title in 11 seasons.

Lakers Capture Franchise Title No. 16

by J.A. Adande, ESPN.com, Los Angeles

It was the Lakers' court but the Celtics' terms, a game that was as artistic as a tic-tac-toe board. If the Lakers were to prevail in these 2010 NBA Finals and beat their age-old rival in a Game 7 for the first time, they would have to be resolute, determined, tough. That meant Pau Gasol had to get physical in the paint. It meant Kobe Bryant had to find a way when he couldn't simply out-spectacular everyone else on the court. It meant Ron Artest had to make the Celtics pay when their defensive strategy openly dared him to beat them.

And somehow, when more things seemed to go wrong than right, with a deficit that grew to 13 points in the first four minutes of the third quarter, the Lakers found a way to win in a decidedly un-Lakerlike fashion, emerging with an 83-79 victory that came within 17 points of the lowest combined Finals score in the shot-clock era.

Except for Artest (and boy, was he exceptional Thursday night) this wasn't about the Lakers establishing their ability to win a championship, it was about removing any of the qualifying descriptions. This was about validation and eradication. It can't be said that these latest Lakers have not beaten the Celtics. It can't be said that Gasol shrinks at the sight of green jerseys. And, amazingly, it can't be said that Phil Jackson ever coaches one-hit wonders. This is the fourth time one of his teams has won a championship, then followed it with at least one more. That might even be enough to help him keep his job next season.