Repeat in LA: Lakers edge Celtics, claim NBA Title

Purple and gold confetti raining down upon him, Kobe Bryant hopped up on the scorer's table, shook his fists and extended five fingers.

When he hopped down, Boston's legendary Hall of Fame center Bill Russell was waiting to shake his hand.

A Game 7 classic -- and this time, it finally went the Lakers' way.

The Celtics led by as many as 13 points against the Lakers on Thursday but lost Game 7. Boston had blown 14 double-digit leads during the regular season. This was the first time it did that in the playoffs.

Beating Boston for the first time in a Game 7, the Lakers came up champions again after trailing in the last quarter of the last game of their season.

Kobe Bryant, the finals MVP, scored 23 points despite 6-of-24 shooting and the Lakers won their 16th NBA championship Thursday night, dramatically rallying to beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7 of the NBA finals.

Bryant earned his fifth title with the Lakers, who repeated as NBA champions for the first time since winning three straight from 2000-02.

"This one is by far the sweetest, because it's them," Bryant said. "This was the hardest one by far. I wanted it so bad, and sometimes when you want it so bad, it slips away from you. My guys picked me up."

Ron Artest added 20 points for the Lakers, who didn't show a champion's poise while making just 21 shots in the first three quarters, even hovering around 50 percent at the free throw line. Yet with Bryant driving the lane and Pau Gasol finally coming alive with nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, Los Angeles reclaimed the lead midway through the fourth quarter and hung on with a few more big shots from Gasol, who had 18 rebounds, and Artest, a first-time champion as the only newcomer to last season's roster.

"Well, first of all I want to thank everybody in my hood," Artest said in an ABC interview right after the game. "I definitely want to thank my doctors ... my psychiatrist, she really helped me relax a lot."

With their fifth title in 11 seasons, the Lakers moved one championship behind Boston's 17 banners for the overall NBA lead.