Lakers defeat Celtics to end record winning streak

Though both sides tried to dismiss it as “just another game”, it was evident to anyone watching that it was much more than that.  In a Christmas Day marquee matchup with playoff like intensity, Pau Gasol sparked a late run that allowed the LA Lakers to pull away from the Boston Celtics and win 92-83 at the Staples Center.  The win provided the Lakers with some degree of redemption for last season’s NBA Finals loss and ended the Celtics winning streak at 19 games.

It was also a significant win in that it gave Laker coach Phil Jackson his 1,000 NBA coaching victory.  He’s the sixth coach in NBA history to reach the milestone and joined Jerry Sloan as the second to do so this season (though Sloan won all 1,000 games with the same team).  Jackson also reached the 1000 win plateau faster than any other coach in history—it took him 1,423 games besting the mark of another Laker coaching great, Pat Riley, by 10 games.

After the game he received kudos from his Celtics counterpart Doc Rivers:

"It's amazing. I mean, he's one of the greatest coaches of all time. I can guarantee you that I won't win 1,000 games because I won't be around that long. It's just an amazing number. When you throw up 1,000 wins, that says a lot."

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 27 points to go with 9 rebounds and five assists, but the hero of the game was Pau Gasol.  Gasol finished with 20 points, scoring seven in the last three minutes as Los Angeles turned a two point Celtic lead into the final margin of victory.  Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic contributed 10 points and put the Celtics on notice with his post game remarks:

"We've been waiting for that opportunity for a long time, and we won. I don't like them at all. A lot of people called us softies or whatever. It doesn't matter at all. We know what we can do. Last year, they won the championship. This year, it's our year, we want to take it all the way."

Boston dropped to 27-3 with the loss and was led by their “big three” with Kevin Garnett scoring 22 points to go with nine rebounds, Paul Pierce added 20 points and 10 boards while Ray Allen finished with 14 points.  The Lakers bench was an important component of their victory, as they outscored their Boston counterparts by a 22-13 margin.