Gasol supplied the big finish

Down the stretch, he came up huge

LOS ANGELES -- Pau Gasol's three key plays down the stretch last night might not silence Boston-area critics who accuse the Lakers power forward of being soft or unable to match up with Kevin Garnett, but they played an important part in ending the Celtics' team-record 19-game winning streak.

After trying to back up Garnett, only to have the Celtics forward "dump him on his butt," as Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson put it, Gasol scored 7 points in a 1-minute-20-second span that proved to be decisive in the Lakers' 92-83 victory at Staples Center.

"I thought Gasol picked his game up more than anyone," said Celtics center Kendrick Perkins.

Gasol's 15-foot jump shot with 2:48 to play put the Lakers ahead for good. His 7-foot jump hook 48 seconds later increased the lead to 85-81. After a Garnett jump shot pulled the Celtics back within 2, 85-83, Gasol's 3-point play with 1:28 left put Los Angeles up, 88-83. Then he ended whatever chances the Celtics had for a victory by blocking a Ray Allen shot.

"Playing with him every day, you realize how talented he is," said Lakers forward Luke Walton. "When he's aggressive like he was down the stretch, he's one of the premier players in the league."

Gasol's early play made him an unlikely candidate for late-game heroics. He missed four of his first five shots.

"I wasn't being effective," he said. "I wasn't contributing the way I want to. I was a little tentative at first, not as confident as I usually play.

"I couldn't believe I wasn't helping the team the way I'm supposed to help my team. I was a little down, but I was able to shake that off and get aggressive and convert.

"I wasn't getting in any flow. Usually I don't miss easy jumpers. [Garnett] was having a pretty good offensive night shooting. You feel like you're letting your team down a little bit. I was glad I was able to turn it up."

The turning point, according to Gasol, came when he passed up a wide-open jumper on the baseline and was fouled by Rajon Rondo. Eleven seconds later, Gasol made the jump shot that gave the Lakers the lead for good.

Despite having the league's third-best record, the Lakers have drawn criticism for their defense and losing games they should have won.

This victory shows "we can beat anybody," and "we can play defense against a great team," Gasol said.

The Celtics' 83 points marked their second-lowest total of the season.

Still, some Lakers downplayed both the victory and how it ended the Celtics' record winning streak.

According to center Andrew Bynum, ending the streak was "not a big deal to us."

Forward Trevor Ariza said, "I don't even think we thought about that. We just worried about the game we had to play. We had to win for ourselves. We weren't worried about the streak."

Walton said, "It feels better than most wins, but in the big picture, it's another win on the schedule, trying to get the best record in the NBA."

This was the first time the Celtics faced the Lakers with both Gasol and Bynum on the court, and it may have exposed their lack of height, at least against Los Angeles.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers had said before the game, "People who know me know how much I love length." Afterward, he said, "I thought their length bothered us, honestly, a little bit."