But then the boos emerged as soon as Bryant played. They booed when he shot the ball.
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Chants of “Kobe!” filled the Garden, as they showed their respect to one of the greatest to ever play the game.
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They then disappeared as if that was enough for the win.
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Bryant faced the Celtics twice in the NBA Finals, losing in 2008 and beating them in 2010.
But those warm and fuzzy moments soon faded. As Bryant shot 0 for 5 in the first quarter, he was booed at every touch and cheered whenever he committed mistakes. There were loud cheers when he missed the free throw after a Boston technical foul.
His shot was followed by a Celtics turnover.
It was a disappointing game for the Celtics (18-14) on so many levels.
But Bryant, building on what to this point was an eight-point quarter, hit his second 3-pointer in five minutes.
The player most deserving of the envy and applause from Celtics fans is none other than former Celtics forward Brandon Bass.
Isaiah Thomas has scored 20+ points in five of his last six games against the Lakers. Amir Johnson leads in blocks with 1.2 per game.
Unsurprisingly, Bryant still commanded the attention on what he considered the most significant part of his farewell tour. After two Boston wins in the regular season, the two teams went head-to-head in their first Finals meeting since 1987. Just think how different things would’ve been if Kobe had the opportunity to carry on the legacy of Larry Bird. D’Angelo and Julius both had solid games in their first crack at the Lakers’ historical rivals. Whether or not those came from the large contingent of L.A. faithful, Celtics fans should’ve figured out a way to drown those out. Celtics president Red Auerbach then presented Abdul-Jabbar with a mounted framed slab of the Garden’s parquet floor for winning six National Basketball Association championships and remaining the league’s all-time leading scorer.
“It’s been remarkable. The fans have shown him a lot of love and rightfully so”, Lakers coach Byron Scott said. We weren’t going to overlook him this time around.
“It wasn’t a question of me even playing here”.
Unlike Abdul-Jabbar, Bryant has not received any public displays of gifts at his request.
“I’m not used to the applause. I had kind of mixed feelings about it”.
Opposing team venues have mostly greeted Bryant with video tributes.
That visit included a pregame tribute from Hornets owner Michael Jordan.
“It was really cool for him to do that”, Bryant said of Jordan. “I couldn’t have achieved what I’ve achieved without him being in my corner and being able to call him and pick his brain about things; it was pretty cool for him to record that message”.
Did Bryant listen to those songs again before his last stop?
“I don’t remember the loss as like a painful experience”, he said. “I don’t need that anymore”. The guys were looking at me like, ‘What is wrong? But something was still missing, especially for Kobe who was named Finals MVP.
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Kobe Bryant became an inextricable part of the Celtics/Lakers rivalry when he played in the 2008 and 2010 NBA Finals between the teams. Once the game ended, Bryant stood on the court to bask in the moment some more. Then LeBron James and the Cavaliers played here for the first time since sweeping the Celtics out of the first round last season.
