One of the NBA's most decorated franchises added another piece of hardware to its collection as the Los Angeles Lakers captured their second-straight and 16th championship banner.
One of the NBA's most decorated franchises added another piece of hardware to its collection as the Los Angeles Lakers captured their second-straight and 16th championship banner.
Finals MVP Kobe Bryant now has five rings, the same number as Magic Johnson, and Lakers coach Phil Jackson now has 11 championships, two more than Boston Celtics coaching icon Red Auerbach.
The Lakers and Celtics have used each other over the years as a barometer of greatness and the 2010 NBA finals between the two most recent league champions and the two franchises with the most titles in history was no different.
"It is very sweet," said Lakers forward Pau Gasol, who had 19 points in a game seven victory on Thursday.
"It definitely adds up when you beat Boston, especially the rivalry, the history of the franchise."
On Friday, US President Barack Obama called Jackson to congratulate him on winning his 11th championship and a great season.
Obama told Jackson he is looking forward to hosting the Lakers in person at the White House for the second year in a row.
The Lakers title significantly boosts the odds that Jackson and his core group will stay together long enough to earn more.
"It does improve my chances," said Jackson, who like some of his players will be pondering his future over the next few months.
Bryant was pleading with his long-time coach to stay on Thursday.
"He knows how bad I want him to come back," Bryant said.
"Let's go for it again."
Bryant overcame a rough shooting night as Los Angeles climbed back from a 13-point deficit to fend off Boston 83-79 in game seven.
Bryant finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds and Gasol validated his status as a bona fide star in the league with another double-double (18 rebounds) for the Lakers, who gained redemption for a one-sided six-game loss to the Celtics in the 2008 finals.
Nobody has to remind Bryant that he is now just one ring shy of former Chicago Bulls icon Michael Jordan.
"Ninety percent of what I have learned and figured out comes from him," Bryant said. "So this is not a situation where it is a me and Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) rivalry. It's different. It is more of a genuine love that I have for him and what he's done for me."
Bryant made just six of 24 shots and had four turnovers on Thursday for the Lakers, who managed to hold off the Celtics despite shooting just 32.5 percent Thursday, going 27-of-83 from the field.
But Bryant found his touch in the fourth by scoring 10 points and making eight of nine shots from the free throw line in the final nine minutes of the game.
"The more I tried to push, the more it kept getting away from me," Bryant said. "I am just glad I was able to make that one damn shot at the end of the game."
At the final buzzer Bryant chased down the game ball then locked it in a death-grip as if he thought the Celtics might try to steal it from him and toss it in the rubbish bin.
He leaped into the arms of Ron Artest, who Jackson called the MVP of the game. Lamar Odom and Sasha Vujacic piled on and the celebration was in full swing before spilling over into the Lakers' champagne-soaked locker room.
The crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center also went into a frenzy.
However, Lakers fans outside the arena took it too far as rowdy revellers set fires, hurled objects at police and jumped on vehicles.
Police said 38 people were arrested, some for "inciting a riot", but for the most part the violence was limited to pockets of Los Angeles' rundown downtown core.
The Lakers have planned a victory parade through the streets of downtown for Monday.
Thursday's decisive contest was a match-made-in-seven but it truly was a batty year for the Lakers.
This was emphasized by a jubilant Artest, who after the game thanked the masses, including his psychiatrist in a rambling post-game speech to reporters that left Lakers' PR man John Black wincing and waving his arms at one point to try and get Artest to leave the podium.
"This was one of the best games of I don't even know, man," said Artest, who invited eight family members on the podium with him.
"I don't want to be in a game like this. Where the game can come out either way on our own floor and I'm just like, what did I get myself into?
"Usually I'm not good at these moments, and I know that about myself.
"I needed some type of way to relax. I trusted everything (psychiatrist) told me as far as relaxing, and bam, the big three goes in. I didn't even realize I was really in a game seven. I was so caught up."
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