BOSTON — These are the moments he lives for, Kobe Bryant. The moments his coach, Phil Jackson, says he relishes. Time winding down, game hanging in the balance, the leather in his hands.

By John Hollinger SAN ANTONIO—Sometimes one can’t appreciate a player with subtle skills until circumstances push him to the forefront. The recent play of the Denver Nuggets provides a good example

Give the Boston Celtics credit. After being run off the court in the first quarter, the C’s dominated the next 24 minutes of the game

Kobe Bryant hit a tough shot with seven seconds left that gave the Lakers a 90-89 win over the Celts and allowed Phil Jackson to tie Pat Riley for regular-season wins with the Lakers.

Celtics (29-15) vs Lakers (36-11)
 Game time: 3:30pm, TD Garden. TV - ABC.

Every
 morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here…
 highlighting the big storyline.  Because there's nothing quite as
 satisfying as a good morning dump.“We’ve got to do a better job,” said Pierce, looking at poor
 performances against contenders. “We’ve got the Lakers coming in
 (today), so we feel like it’s a must win.
 “These are teams we’re going to see in the playoffs, so we’re giving
 them a psychological edge right now. It’s n…

 Sunday, January 31st, 2010 The Jungle – Boston, MA 3:30 PM ET Tip View on: ABC I will start off by saying there will be no lack of emotion to this game.

Two years ago, the Lakers were struggling, but the deal that brought the versatile forward to Los Angeles made them a force again, and champions last season. Pau Gasol was shifting uncomfortably in the waiting room outside his boss' office, forced to wait half an hour for reasons unknown.

Kobe Bryant is a phenomenal player, and his career is full of team and individual accomplishments. However, after Shaquille O’Neal left town, the Lakers missed the playoffs and then struggled every subsequent year in the postseason

Coach Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant say the team must play with the same style, energy and intensity as Boston in order to win on Sunday. The Boston Celtics may be struggling, but the Lakers still know they will face a team today that will play physical basketball and play defense.