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BOSTON.- It's the
Best in the East against the Best in the West when this year's NBA finals start
later this week here. Game 1 of the best-of-seven series between the Boston Celtics
and the Los Angeles Lakers will be on Thursday night at the Garden (Friday morning
in Manila).
The
Celtics advanced to the NBA finals for the first time since 1987 by beating the
Detroit Pistons, 89-81 to clinch the NBA Eastern Conference crown right at their
rival's homecourt yesterday. The Celtics won the series, 4-2. Paul Pierce topscored
for the Celtics with 27 points.
BEST
IN THE WEST
LOS
ANGELES.- Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers dispatched the defending champions,
and are headed to the NBA finals for the first time in four years.
Bryant
scored 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers rallied from
an early 17-point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs, 100-92, on Thursday and
win the Western Conference finals in five games.
The
Lakers are 12-3 in the playoffs, including 8-0 at Staples Center, where they haven't
lost in two months. They have won 14 straight home games and 21 of their last
24 postseason games at home.
| | | They
get a week off before opening the NBA finals next Thursday night at Boston.
The
Lakers will be playing in the finals for the 23rd time since moving from Minneapolis
to Los Angeles in 1961 and the 29th time overall. They have won 14 championships
- nine in Los Angeles and five in Minneapolis.
The
Lakers and the Celtics have met 10 times in the finals, with Boston winning the
first eight matchups and Los Angeles the last two -in 1985 and 1987. That's the
last time the Celtics advanced to the championship round. |
The Lakers
and Pistons have met three times in the finals, most recently in 2004, when Detroit
won in five games. Shaquille O'Neal, who teamed with Bryant to lead the Lakers
to three straight championships starting in 2000, was traded a month later, and
the Lakers hadn't won a postseason since until last month.
(From
the wires and dyRD Monitoring Center as compiled by Josephat D. Bautista) | 
