Bryant exits a victor as Lakers upset the Celtics

Bryant finished with a team-high 20 points in the Lakers’ 98-108 loss and said that he was moved by the cheers from the crowd.

And with the Lakers having been relevant for quite some time (though they hadn’t won a championship since 2002), that meant the rivalry was back. Well, the Lakers were able to counter the usually very troublesome Celtics backcourt with Williams (19 points, 7-of-9 from the field) and Clarkson, scoring 24 points in one of his better games this season, hitting 10-of-15 shots.

– Chicago Bulls 102, Indiana Pacers 100 (OT) Jimmy Butler tipped in Pau Gasol’s lob pass with 1.2 seconds left in overtime and deflected one intended for Paul George on the final play of the game, lifting the Bulls (18-12) over the visiting Pacers (18-13).

Celtics Chowder is here to keep you up to date with everything surrounding the Boston Celtics as they look to bounce back from one of the most disappointing games of the season. “It’s a part of it. The Lakers have good traditions just like the Boston Celtics organization, so it’s two good organizations going at it. It’s a great rivalry and I really don’t mind it”.

A similar setting emerged for Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in his last game here on December 16, 1988.

Before the game, Bryant rose from the bench, according to SB Nation, and Celtics fans pitched into his farewell tour by giving him a standing ovation.

The Celtics’ brain trust at that time included president Red Auerbach and head coach/vice president of basketball operations M.L. Carr. Randle more than made up for Hibbert’s no-show. Even when they wanted to stomp on his soul, they respected his brilliant shot-making and the way he always kept coming back, after a miss, after a make, after a crushing Finals loss.

Unlike Abdul-Jabbar, Bryant has not received any public displays of gifts at his request.

Earlier in the day, members of the Celtics front office privately presented Bryant with a piece of the parquet floor.

“I’m not used to the applause”.

This is one of those rare venues for Bryant. After the draft Charlotte traded Bryant to the Lakers for Vlade Divac.

“I can’t believe this is the last time I’m going to be here”. It’s always cool when I come here.

Still, Bryant was unsure what reaction he would get from Celtics fans when he played his final game in Boston on Wednesday, because Boston is different. Then, Bryant listened to the songs endlessly as motivation before winning back-to-back championships against Orlando (2009) and Boston (2010). The form he displayed, and his ability to shine in a timely moment, were vintage.

“I put it on and I went out and D.J”. Two games later, the Lakers needed to make a fourth-quarter comeback in order to win.

“Honestly, if I could cheer for (the Boston fans) I would”, he said. “I’ll scan the crowd a lot and try to soak it all in as much as possible”.

In Sacramento, Ish Smith scored five of his 18 points over the final 3½ minutes and Jamari Grant made three late free throws for Philadelphia.

So while everybody who “bleeds green” was celebrating Garnett’s arrival, how did Kobe Bryant feel about the whole thing?