Boston Celtics take 2-0 finals lead

Ian Whittell

THE Los Angeles Lakers stumbled to another potentially costly defeat in their NBA Finals series with the Boston Celtics on Sunday but, from the ashes of a 108-102 loss, they may finally have witnessed the spark to ignite their Championship bid.

Kobe Bryant inspired a late comeback by his team, which had trailed by 24 points with only 7:55 (minutes) left to play, a recovery which brought them to within 104-100 with 63 seconds remaining.

Ultimately, thanks to two free-throws from the excellent Paul Pierce, the Celtics were able to hold on for a win which gives them a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series as it is transplanted to Los Angeles for three games starting Tuesday.

However, the performance of Bryant, who finally seemed to come to terms with Boston’s stifling defence in the second half on his way to a game-high 30 points, suggested that the Lakers may have it within their power to become only the fourth team to ever recover from a 2-0 deficit in the NBA Finals.

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