Sun Jun 8 22:26:37 2008

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Pierce leads Boston to big lead at half of Game 2

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Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Paul Pierce shook off the effects of a knee injury to score 16 points, and the Celtics have Kobe Bryant in foul trouble, all while holding a 54-42 lead over the Los Angeles Lakers at the half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Pierce, who was carried off the court with a sprained right knee in the third quarter of Thursday's opener before coming back to lead the Celtics to a 98-88 win, is 5-of-9 from the field.

Kendrick Perkins also started despite a sprained left ankle for the Celtics, but picked up two fouls in the first nine minutes of the game. Leon Powe did an admirable job off the bench, scoring eight points.

Kevin Garnett had eight points and seven rebounds for the Celtics, who are 11-1 at home in the playoffs.

Bryant, coming off a 9-for-26 shooting effort in the opener, was called for two fouls in the first quarter, one being an offensive call when his elbow barely grazed Ray Allen with two minutes left in the stanza. He was whistled for his third foul after bowling over Pierce with 1:53 remaining in the half.

The Lakers had 10 turnovers in the first half, after having just eight all of Game 1.

Pau Gasol is the leading scorer at the half for the Lakers with 13 points. Bryant has nine points on 4-of-10 shooting.

The Lakers surged to a 15-8 lead early, but the Celtics came back with 12 of the next 16 points. However, Jordan Farmar nailed a three-pointer in the waning seconds of the quarter to give the Lakers a 22-20 lead.

The Celtics scored 10 in a row to begin the second, culminated by Pierce's three-ball from the left side. Powe had five free throws during the spurt.

The Lakers got as close as four points, the last time at 41-37 on Gasol's three-point play with nearly 4 1/2 minutes left. Pierce and Allen then drilled back-to-back threes.

With just over a minute left in the half, Garnett threw a length-of-the court pass to a leaking Rajon Rondo for a slam, moving the lead to 53-42. Rondo capped the half with a free throw.