Notebook: Lakers 88, Celtics 87

Posted Friday February 10, 2012 12:33AM

By Brian Robb, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Pau Gasol rejected Ray Allen's putback attempt as time expired, allowing the Los Angeles Lakers to hold on for an 88-87 overtime victory over the Boston Celtics. Paul Pierce missed a fadeaway jumper in the closing seconds, but Allen was able to grab the offensive rebound for one final chance, which Gasol blocked away to put an exclamation point on the Lakers' gritty win. The Spaniard had a terrific game on both ends of the floor, posting a double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds. He combined with Andrew Bynum (16 points, 17 rebounds) to wreak havoc against the Celtics on both ends. The play of both big men helped the Lakers overcome an off shooting night (39 percent). Kobe Bryant had a game-high 27 points to snap the Lakers' two-game losing streak. Ray Allen had 22 points for the hosts, as their five-game winning streak came to an end by the slimmest of margins.

QUOTABLE: "You just got to play until the clock runs out and that's what I try to do. I've been in situations before in my career where you just freeze and you just catch yourself looking at the ball and somebody makes a play and you end up losing a game. So tonight I'm glad that I was able to continue playing until the end"
-- Pau Gasol on his game-saving block

THE STAT: The Celtics relied heavily on the outside shot for the entire contest, and their lack of aggressiveness limited their opportunities at the free throw line. Boston managed a season-low five free-throw attempts over the entire 53 minutes, including zero in the second half.

TURNING POINT: After Gasol hit a tip-in to tie the game at 82 with 11 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter the Celtics had one final chance to win the game in regulation. Doc Rivers decided to put the ball in the hands of his captain coming out of Boston's timeout. After running a pick and roll with Allen though, Pierce picked up his dribble prematurely due to the Lakers trap and the C's were unable to get off a quality shot before time expired.

QUOTABLE II: "We get one rebound down there at the end of regulation we give ourselves a great chance at winning. Defensive rebounding was a big emphasis for us coming into the game and we just didn't do a good job tonight."
-- Paul Pierce

HOT: Gasol -- The power forward took advantage of second chance opportunities and the extra attention the C's were giving Bryant to go 6-for-9 in the second half for 13 points.

NOT: Kevin Garnett -- The cagey veteran had plenty of open looks throughout the contest, taking what was far and away a season-high 23 shots. Unfortunately for Boston, Garnett failed to find his scoring touch all night, missing 17 of those attempts.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Pierce. The All-Star reserve continued to fill up the stat sheet in all realms of the game. The now 10-time All-Star had 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists over a season-high 48 minutes.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Several members of the New England Patriots took in the game from courtside, including owner Robert Kraft, Rob Gronkowski and Vince Wilfork.

NOTABLE: Steve Blake returned to action for the Lakers after sitting out the past month with a right rib injury. The reserve point guard finished with five points in 31 minutes off the bench. Avery Bradley sat out with a sore shoulder and Sasha Pavlovic did not play as well due an inflamed left wrist. Boston dropped to 1-10 when they score less than 89 points. The Lakers went just 1-for-15 from 3-point range. Marquis Daniels played just one minute after playing his first game since spraining his right ankle. He had missed the previous two contests. Los Angeles is now 2-2 on their six-game road trip. The Lakers had 18 of their 24 second chance points in the second half.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Friday @ New York, Sunday @ Toronto, Tuesday vs. Atlanta. For the Celtics, Friday @ Toronto, Sunday vs. Chicago, Wednesday vs. Detroit.