Bryant takes pressure of Game Two over Bora Bora

BOSTON (Reuters) - Kobe Bryant is relishing the kind of pressure awaiting him when he leads the Los Angeles Lakers against the Boston Celtics in Game Two of the NBA finals on Sunday.

"I'd much rather have the pressure of this moment as opposed to having the pressure of deciding which swim trunks I'm going to wear in Bora Bora, the Gucci ones or the Yves Saint Laurent ones," Bryant told reporters on Saturday.

After a lackluster performance in a 98-88 Game One loss in which he scored a modest 24 points on woeful 9-of-26 shooting, the expectations will lay a little heavier on Bryant's shoulders.

The Lakers will certainly need him to perform more like the NBA's Most Valuable Player if they do not want to return to the West coast trailing 2-0.

WHAT MAGIC

Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who knows better than anyone what magic Bryant is capable, expects fans will see a different Bryant in Game Two.

"He's been an unstoppable force in this game," said Jackson, who is bidding for a record 10th NBA title. "He usually doesn't have two games in a row that are bad.

"He comes back and plays better. So we anticipate that's going to be a pattern.

"More than anything else, Kobe, he's got to play the kind of game if he takes 26 shots, he's got to have the kind of game he has."

Bryant averaged 31.9 points a game coming into the finals but was frustrated a swarming Celtics defense.

The league MVP was also missing when his team needed him most, hitting just one of his final seven shots.

Bryant can expect more of the same diligent attention from Paul Pierce, James Posey and Ray Allen, who hassled him to distraction.

"This is playoff basketball," said Bryant. "You have games where you lose the first one and the second one is the one you want to get.

"You just go from there. It's kind of a seesaw of emotions. But we're ready, we're focused on it.

"We're going to come out and play much better."

(Editing by Ed Osmond)