In Boston, in a marquee matchup between the last two NBA champions, the Celtics recovered from an early deficit and looked set to prevail when they led by 11 points with less than nine minutes left.

However, the home team suffered a dry spell that allowed the Lakers to inch closer and the visitors pulled within one on Ron Artest's drive with 45 seconds remaining.

Artest then drew an offensive foul on Paul Pierce to set up his team's final possession.

Rajon Rondo led the way with 21 points and 12 assists for a struggling Boston (29-16), which has suffered six defeats in eight games.

The Lakers took the life out of the TD Garden in the first quarter where Bynum had 12 points for the hot-shooting visitors, who took a 30-19 advantage, before Rondo sparked a Boston comeback. The newly named All-Star point guard scored nine in the second and the Celtics seized the momentum with a 30-10 turnaround to grab a 49-40 advantage with 3:01 left before the half.

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