The Boston Celtics accomplished a significant milestone Sunday night, clinching a playoff berth for the second consecutive season under head coach Brad Stevens.
But with Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant facing off against Boston for the final time, it only made sense that the postgame topic quickly turned to the past.
Bryant turned in a vintage performance Sunday, dropping a game-high 34 points in a near-upset of the Celtics at Staples Center. Lakers coach Byron Scott said he noticed a seriousness in Bryant that he hadn’t seen all season, which, considering Kobe’s history with Boston, makes sense.
The Celtics officially landed on Bryant’s “hit list” in 2008, when Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen helped dispatch Kobe’s Lakers in six games to win the NBA Finals. Two years later, Bryant got his revenge, lifting L.A. to an NBA title after an epic seven-game series.
After his final game against the C’s, the 37-year-old admitted the 2010 title was the sweetest of his five NBA championships.
“No question,” Bryant said, via Lakers Nation’s Serena Winters. “To lose that one and be 0-2 to the Celtics, that is non-negotiable. You cannot do that.”
“You can’t lose twice to this team,” he added, via The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. “I don’t care how many Hall of Famers they have.”
Bryant will be far removed from the action if and when the Celtics win another ring. But the 20-year NBA veteran did admit he’ll miss playing against his longtime rivals.
Click for the Celtics-Lakers Wrap >>
—Â As mentioned above, the Celtics officially clinched a playoff spot with Sunday’s win, which allowed them to finish their five-game West Coast road trip at 3-2.
“That’s big for us (to) get the monkey off our back a little bit,” Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas said in an interview with CSN New England’s Kyle Draper. “We’re just playing these games looking forward to the future, man. (But) we’re staying in the moment at the same time.”
The C’s also moved into a tie with the No. 3 seed Atlanta Hawks in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, although a tiebreaker puts Boston at No. 4. The Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets both trail the Celtics by just a half game.
— Celtics guard Evan Turner suffered a nasty left eye injury with under 30 seconds remaining, getting poked in the eye during a rebound battle with Lakers big man Julius Randle. Turner immediately sprinted to the locker room after the incident.
“He’s got bleeding in his eye,” Stevens told reporters, as seen on CSN New England. “An internist is looking at him right now, and we don’t know the extent of the injury, but clearly he got some eye poke, hopefully not too much trauma.”
Those on the scene reported Turner’s eye was badly swollen in the locker room after the game.
— Thomas continued his torrid scoring stretch with a 26-point performance that gives him 20 or more points in Boston’s last 16 games. That streak ties the Celtics’ record for most consecutive games with 20 or more points set by Pierce during the 2005-06 season.
— Thomas put on a display in front of his good friend, Floyd Mayweather, who was in attendance at Staples Center. Thomas and the world champion boxer shared a quick moment at halftime.
— The Celtics got good news for the future Sunday, as the Brooklyn Nets announced they’ve shut down Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young for the season. The Nets currently are one game ahead of the Phoenix Suns with the NBA’s fourth-worst record but could slip even further without their two best players on the floor.
That could mean a higher lottery pick for Boston, which owns Brooklyn’s 2016 first-round pick.
— For all his competitive spirit, Bryant isn’t above taking lessons from the enemy. The Lakers guard went further down memory lane Sunday to discuss his relationship with Celtics legend Bill Russell.
“He’s been an unbelievable mentor,” Bryant said, via MassLive.com’s Jay King. “Especially from the standpoint of leadership and understanding the group team dynamics, and some of the experiences he went through, and how he was able to manage some of the teams that he played on, and some of the things that he might have faced. He’s been an invaluable ear and voice for me in my career.”
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
