Celtics beat Pistons to reach NBA finals

The Boston Celtics got past an old nemesis to set up an NBA finals matchup with another rival — the Los Angeles Lakers.

Paul Pierce scored 27 points, Ray Allen had 17 and Kevin Garnett added 16 to lift Boston to an 89-81 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Boston, which locked up with Detroit many times in the 1980s, will now rekindle another classic series in the NBA finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

"It's kind of surreal," Garnett said.

The Celtics are in the NBA finals for the first since losing to the Lakers in 1987, the third meeting in a four-year span.

The Pistons were eliminated on their home court for the first time during a six-year run that included a trip to the conference finals each year and the 2004 title.

Boston entered the series without a road win in the postseason, then beat Detroit on its home court twice to win the grueling series. /ap.google.com

Bryant leads Lakers past Spurs and into NBA finals

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers dispatched the defending champions, and now they're 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 night 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've 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 or Detroit. The Celtics lead the Eastern Conference finals 3-2 with Game 6 on Friday night in Detroit. /ap.google.com

Celtics Beat Pistons in Game 1 of East Finals

Not even a week of rest could prepare the Detroit Pistons for the hottest home team in the NBA. Kevin Garnett had 26 points and nine rebounds and Paul Pierce scored 22 points Tuesday night to give Boston an 88-79 victory over the Pistons in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics' 15th straight home win.

Despite having just one day off after an epic Game 7 that eliminated LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers from the conference semifinals, Boston scored the first eight points against a Detroit team that waited six days for the series to start.

"Rest is not an option,'' Garnett said. "So we don't even think about that.'' Kendrick Perkins had 10 rebounds for Boston and Rajon Rondo scored seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, hitting a 3-pointer with 1:47 left in the game after the Pistons cut the deficit to 83-75. Rondo also had seven assists and five steals while outplaying Chauncey Billups, the MVP of the 2004 NBA finals, in his return from a right hamstring injury.

"I believe in him. I play him. I'm going to keep playing him,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of his point guard. "I told him before the game, 'Stop worrying about them. Make them worry about you, too. You're a hell of a basketball player.'''

The Celtics earned home court through the playoffs with a league-best 66-16 regular season record and rode that advantage to seven-game victories in series against Atlanta and Cleveland. On Tuesday they improved to 9-0 at home in the playoffs, but they're 0-6 on the road.

"They haven't lost a game; they should be confident,'' said Billups, who missed the last 2 1/2 games of the Orlando series. "They have been very good here at home. We are usually a really good team; we didn't have a good game today, but we look forward to Thursday.'' /nba.com

Kobe's 34 points help Lakers beat Jazz and take 2-0 lead

The Los Angeles Lakers celebrated Kobe Bryant's MVP award the best way possible. Bryant had 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists Wednesday night, and the Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 120-110 to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals and remain the NBA's only unbeaten team in the postseason.

The series shifts to Utah for Games 3 and 4 on Friday night and Sunday. The Jazz had an NBA-best 37-4 home record this season, but one of the losses was by 11 points to the Lakers on March 20.

Bryant received his Most Valuable Player trophy from NBA commissioner David Stern in a brief ceremony before the game.

"I'm at a loss for words, I don't know what to say," Bryant said as the Staples Center crowd of 18,997 roared its approval and chanted M-V-P. "I love you guys so much. We're going to play until June. Let's get this party started."

The 29-year-old Bryant was a runaway winner of his first MVP award, receiving 82 first-place votes and 1,100 points to far outdistance New Orleans' Chris Paul in the voting of 126 media members. The results were announced Tuesday. /ap.google.com