NBA finals is Lakers-Celtics, Part 12

LOS ANGELES (AP):

Here comes Kobe Bryant's chance in the NBA finals against the Boston Celtics who beat him two years ago.

He's far from the only Los Angeles Lakers great to fall short against Boston.

The Lakers and the Celtics, the league's most storied franchises, renew their rivalry in the NBA finals for the 12th time from today.

Boston beat Los Angeles in the 2008 finals with a dominant defence that made life miserable for Bryant, that season's MVP. When they meet again at Staples Center, the Lakers can show how much better they are since then.

"We'll see, we'll see how much we matured," Bryant said. "They challenged us extremely well in the finals a couple of years ago. Now is a chance to see how much we've grown."

Second straight title

Los Angeles will be going for their second straight title and No. 16 overall. The Celtics still have the edge, hanging their 17th banner with their victory two years ago in six games.

"We remember more than anything losing on our home court, a situation where we had some defensive lapses and they took advantage of it," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "This year, we have homecourt advantage and we look forward to the rematch with great intensity."

The Celtics improved to 9-2 in the finals against the Lakers, having dominated the series for decades even against the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor until Los Angeles won twice in the 1980s.

That was back when a Lakers-Celtics finals was expected. Nobody predicted this one.

While the Lakers were the best of the Western Conference all season, the Celtics stumbled over the second half and were only a No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. But they've rediscovered the defence that contained Bryant two years ago, and after eliminating Miami's Dwyane Wade and Cleveland's LeBron James, they get another shot at the Lakers star.

Going strong

The Celtics knocked off James and Cleveland, which had the league's best record, in the second round, then upset Orlando, last season's Eastern Conference champion. The Big Three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are still going strong, but point guard Rajon Rondo has perhaps been their best player in the play-offs.

The defending champion Lakers are making their third straight finals appearance.

The Lakers will host the first two games before the series shifts to Boston for the next three, if necessary. Both teams will be well rested - the Celtics clinched their 21st trip to the finals by finishing off Orlando on Friday, while the Lakers are making their league-best 31st appearance after wrapping up their series against Phoenix in six games last Saturday.