Pierce, Garnett lead Celtics past Lakers

BOSTON (Reuters) - The Boston Celtics rolled to a 98-88 win over the Los Angeles Lakers to win Game One of the NBA finals on Thursday, opening another chapter in professional basketball's most storied rivalry.

Kevin Garnett, playing in his first NBA finals, had 24 points to lead the Celtics but it was captain Paul Pierce who turned the tide, scoring 15 third-quarter points after injuring his knee and leaving the court in a wheelchair.

Boston had been given a scare in the third quarter when their leading scorer collided with a team mate and crumpled to the floor clutching his right knee but Pierce made a dramatic return to finish with 22 points after scoring three in the opening half.

"I was scared when I saw him down on the floor," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "Obviously it was great to see him come back and obviously we were concerned when he went down.

"Him coming back lifted us up."

The atmosphere inside a seething sold-out Garden was electric with anticipation when the NBA's two most successful franchises ran onto the famed hardwood as grainy black-and-white clips of past series played on the scoreboard.

Clashing in the finals for the 11th time, the Celtics and the Lakers had not played for the title since 1987 but it quickly became clear that none of the magic and intensity had been lost over the years.

EARLY FIREWORKS

Garnett provided the early fireworks, igniting the crowd with a thundering dunk and scoring eight points as Boston took a 23-21 first-quarter lead.

But the NBA's top offensive team, led by an 11-point effort from Derek Fisher, began to flex their muscles in the second. They took a 51-46 advantage into the intermission, despite a modest contribution from Kobe Bryant.

Bryant, the NBA's most valuable player, got off to a quiet start by scoring just eight points on 3-of-10 shooting but began to find the mark in the second, finishing with a team high 24 points.

"I think our rhythm wasn't there, wasn't what we like it to be," said Bryant.

"Still we played well enough to almost steal the game. Some balls bounced their way tonight. They scrapped and they clawed their way to this victory.

"They played a lot more physical than we did, and I think that's something we have to adjust to and get ready for Game Two."

After the injury scare Pierce nailed key back-to-back three-pointers to help propel the Eastern Conference champions into a 75-71 lead.

"I just wanted to get back out there," said Pierce. "A lot was going through my mind, and I was like, man, it can't be over like this."

Riding the energy of the crowd, the Celtics carried the momentum into the final quarter, surging ahead 90-82 with three minutes to play before putting the shackles on the NBA's top attack and drawing first blood.

The Celtics can seize control of the best-of-seven series when they host Game Two on Sunday before the final shifts to the West coast.

(Editing by Martin Petty and Peter Rutherford)