USA - Lakers edge out Celtics to win 16th title

LOS ANGELES (NBA) - The Los Angeles Lakers erased a 13-point second-half deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Thursday and successfully defend their title.

In a very physical and gritty game, the Lakers outscored the Celtics 30-22 in the final quarter to exact revenge on the team that denied them a title two years ago to the day.

Kobe Bryant had a poor shooting night, hitting just six of his 24 field goal attempts, but made his way to the free-throw line time and time again down the stretch on his way to 23 points.

The 31-year-old guard also grabbed 15 rebounds as LA won the battle of the boards 53-40. Not suprisingly, he was named the Finals Most Valuable Player.

"I wanted it so bad," Bryant said afterwards. "I was really, really tired and the more I tried to push, the more it kept getting away from me.

And the Lakers superstar, who has now won five championships, ranked this one as the one that means the most.

"This one is by far the sweetest because it's them (the Celtics). 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," he added.

The Lakers shot only 32.5 percent for the game and got off to a horrendous start, missing 21 of their first 27 shots. They trailed 23-14 at the end of the first quarter and 40-34 at the break.

The Celtics - playing without starting centre Kendrick Perkins who sat out after picking up a right knee injury in the first quarter of Game 6 - extended their advantage to 49-36 on a Rajon Rondo lay-up early in the third period.

However their offense would begin to stall late in that quarter and for the better part of the final frame as fatigue became an issue for their ageing stars.

LA made the most of Boston's problems, using a 9-0 run to turn a 64-61 deficit into a 70-64 with 4:37 to go.

Derek Fisher tied the game on a deep three-pointer and Bryant gave the Lakers the lead for good on a pair of free-throws, followed by a mid-range jumper. Pau Gasol capped the spurt by making both attempts from the foul line.

The Celtics fought their way back to get within 81-79 on Rondo's desperate corner long bomb with 16 seconds left, but at the other end Sasha Vujacic made good on his trip to the charity stripe and the Lakers denied their old rivals.

Ron Artest, who joined the Lakers before the season, finished with 20 points and five steals and made 2008 Finals MVP Paul Pierce work extremely hard for each and every one of his team-best 18 points.

Spain star Gasol had 19 points and a game-high 18 rebounds.

Lakers head coach Phil Jackson won his 11th NBA championship, tying Celtic legend Bill Russell for most.

FIBA