Last season the Boston Celtics weren't really considered a serious force to be reckoned with until they got into the playoffs. With Kevin Garnett banged up once again during the regular season, the Boston Celtics were thought to be nothing more than a stepping stone for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic in the postseason.
Obviously, that didn't turn out to be the case as Doc Rivers' squad were able to dominate the competition in the Eastern Conference playoffs and make it back to the NBA Finals for the second time in three years. Not only were the Celtics back to championship form once again, but they had their arch rivals standing in their way of another NBA title.
Before their epic showdown in the 2010 NBA Finals, the Celtics and the Lakers met two times during the regular season as usual. In their second meeting on the Lakers' home floor at the Staples Center, Kobe Bryant had to sit out with sprained ankle and the defending champs lost after Derek Fisher missed badly on a last second shot in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter.
On Jan. 31, 2010, the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers headed to TD Garden in Boston to take on their arch rivals. In this game Kobe was ready go and had yet to sprain his ankle that kept him out five games. Even though Kobe managed to score just 19 points in the Lakers win over the Celtics in Boston, his last two were the most important as he hit the game-winner over Ray Allen with just 7.3 seconds remaining in the game.
Check out the Kobe's game-winner against the Boston Celtics in the video on the left-hand side of this post.
Almost a year to the day (Jan. 30, 2011), Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers will take on their arch rivals once again at the Staples Center in their first matchup since Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Boston Celtics(35-11) at Los Angeles Lakers(33-14) Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011 12:30 p.m. PST
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