A L.A. Story

In what could be the Lakers' biggest win of

the season, Gasol was on top of his game.

Boston Celtics. Los Angeles Lakers. It never gets old.

A night after Don Rivers watched his son Austin hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to lift his team in Chapel Hill, the 50-year-old Boston head coach had to watch his team and Paul Pierce's potential game-winning 18-foot jumper with 0.01 remaining, circle the rim only to fall short, losing to the Lakers, 88-87.

Ray Allen had a chance for a putback attempt, but Pau Gasol, who just hours before found out he wouldn't be making is fourth straight All-Star appearance, blocked Allen's shot, clinching both his fists and yelling in excitement after sealing his team's fourth road win of the season.

Gasol finished the game with 25 points and 14 rebounds -- his 15th double-double this season and fourth in as many games.

The win snaps Boston's five-game winning streak and extends Los Angeles' recent success at the TD Garden. The Lakers have now won four straight regular season games in Boston, including three being decided by just one point and two needing overtime to decide a winner.

However, Los Angeles failed to score 100-plus points fourth time in-a-row and 17th time in their last 19 games. The Lakers are averaging just 93.2 points per game this season -- their lowest total in the shot clock era. The 1953-54 season, when the Lakers were still in Minneapolis, is their lowest total ever, averaging just 81.7 PPG.

Although, the franchise won their fifth and final NBA championship in Minnesota that year.

The Celtics lead most of the game until Kobe Bryant and Gasol took over the third quarter. Bryant scored 10 of his 27 points in the third quarter with Gasol adding nine. The championship duo scored 19 of Los Angeles' 22 points in the quarter, outscoring the entire Celtics team, who were held to just 17.

It was Bryant's 19th 25-point game this season which leads the NBA. But it was Andrew Bynum's late tip-in that proved to be the eventual game-winning shot. He added 14 other points, 17 rebounds and three blocks.

As for the Boston big men, especially Kevin Garnett, would like to have this one back.

After hitting two straight shots early in the fourth quarter, Garnett missed his final nine shots of the game, including back-to-backs jumpers that could have given the Celtics the lead in the extra period.

With Garnett's 12, Allen's 22 and Pierce's 18, the Boston big three were out done by the Lakers' big three, 68-52.

Speaking of those three, Pierce was the only Celtic named to his year's All-Star team, ending Garnett's impressive 14 consecutive-year run.

These two teams will not meet again until March 11 in Los Angeles. Until then, they will continue the second of a back-to-back. Boston will travel to Toronto for only their ninth road game of the season thus far while the Lakers continue their Grammy road trip under the lights of New York City, taking on the suddenly surging and Jeremy Lin-led Knickerbockers.

But, on this night, the rivalry was renewed.

It's Finally Here

LeBron James will need to be on his game
Sunday afternoon. 

It's the matchup everyone has been waiting for and it's finally here.

The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics are set to matchup in the second-round of the NBA postseason Sunday afternoon.

The series should be an epic one and add a new chapter to this newly fueled rivalry. It's only fitting that if the Heat want to win multiple NBA championships it comes with a road through Boston.

To be a champion you must first dethrone a champion and that's exactly what the Celtics are, being the defending Eastern Conference champions and hold an NBA record 17 NBA titles.

The Celtics won the season series against Miami three games to one, but two of those four games came at the start of the regular season in a three-week span. It would be unfair to Miami to say those games will have an impact on the series ahead.

The two teams met in mid-February and it yielded the same result with Boston winning a close one, 85-82.

The Heat saw Chris Bosh have one of his best games of the season, scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The final matchup of the season came with only three games left in the regular season, when Miami would claim their only victory against the boys in green, embarrassing them, 100-77.

These two teams are completely different than they were at the start of the regular and we should expect maybe the most exciting series of this year's postseason.

With the departure of center Kendrick Perkins to the Western Conference and uncertain health of Shaquille O' Neal, Boston's inside toughness has been questioned much of the second half, seeing them go 16-12 since the break.

The Celtics are in for a dog fight with the super team that was built in South Beach.

With Miami grabbing the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, Boston will not have the luxury of having a decisive seventh game in the TD Garden if need be. Although, that should not pose a problem for the veteran squad, who are confident they can win anywhere at anytime.

However, the home court will greatly help the Heat with the first two games at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Miami will need their two point guards to try and contain Boston's Rajon Rondo as much as possible as he is the X-factor for the Celtics heading into this series. The Heat do not have anyone that can stop the pesky 25-year-old from getting out into transition and distributing the basketball.

During their four regular season meeting, Rondo averaged 12 assists per contest, almost a full assist above his 11.2 during the regular reason, recording as many as 17 Opening Night in Boston.

Miami will also need to see the face of their franchise, Dwayne Wade, play better against the C's, shooting an atrocious 28 percent from the field and averaging under 13 points per game at 12.8 a contest.

The series should be a relatively low scoring and close the entire way with two of the top defenses in the NBA doing battle. The Celtics ranked first among points allowed at 91.1 points per game with Miami not far behind allowing 94.6 points per, good enough for sixth in the NBA. Boston comes in as confident as ever after their first playoff sweep since 1992, sweeping the new-look New York Knicks.

This has given the aging veterans time to rest up for the this highly anticipated series, last playing on April 24.

Paul Pierce's legacy rides on another deep playoff run and a chance to even be considered with the all-time Celtic greats.

With the youth movement emerging, there seems to be a paradigm shift in the NBA happening right before our eyes. This could be the final act for Boston's Big Three with a shot at an NBA title. They will not be willing to pass the torch just yet, the Heat will need to earn it.

Of the 15 players on the current Heat roster, nine of them have been ousted in the postseason by this Celtics team one time or another, including Wade and LeBron James a year ago on their respective teams, so you know Miami will be ready.

Miami in seven.