Lakers Gameday | 11/23/07 | Celtics 107, Lakers 94

Kevin Garnett had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead the new Big Three in its first game against the rival Lakers, and Paul Pierce added 20 points and nine assists to help the Boston Celtics beat Los Angeles 107-94 on Friday night.

Kobe Bryant scored 28 points for Los Angeles, which got no help from having California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sitting courtside. Instead, the Celtics fired up the crowd for the renewal of the rivalry by putting a muscle-bound clip of Schwarzenegger's movie "Predator'' on the scoreboard.

Kendrick Perkins had 21 points and nine rebounds for Boston, which improved to 10-1 overall and 7-0 at home. Ray Allen had 18 points, and Rajon Rondo 10 assists for the Celtics.

The Lakers scored eight straight points in the fourth quarter to get within single digits, 94-85, with 4:53 left. But Bryant missed one free throw at 96-86, and Perkins muscled his way to the basket at the other end, then got the rebound after putting a hand in Andrew Bynum's face.

After trading possessions, Rondo hit Allen for a 3-pointer. The Lakers cut it to 101-91, but Rondo found Garnett for the jumper, then Allen was fouled on the breakaway and hit both free throws with 52 seconds left to make it a 14-point game.

Bryant was booed often by the crowd, which even mustered a "Beat L.A.!'' chant reminiscent of the days when the old Boston Garden and the old Big Three of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish seemed to host the Lakers in the NBA finals every summer.

Those Celtics and the Lakers of Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abul-Jabbar dominated the NBA in the 1980s: From '80-88, the two rivals won all but one of the nine NBA championships -- three for Boston, five for Los Angeles (one for the Philadelphia 76ers) -- and met for the title three times in four years.

But it hasn't been much of a rivalry lately.

The Celtics missed the playoffs for six consecutive seasons from 1996-2001, while the Lakers were building a mini-dynasty under Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Los Angeles won three straight titles from 2000-02; the Celtics lost in the '02 Eastern Conference finals and missed a chance to renew the rivalry with the Lakers for the title.

The Lakers won both meetings last season, when the Celtics were more interested in landing the top pick in the NBA draft, and seven of the last 10 overall.

The Celtics went out to an early lead, and they did it with a little showtime.

Boston led 15-10 before scoring eight straight points, getting an alley-oop dunk from Pierce to Garnett followed by Pierce's steal and fast-break layup. Pierce then sent Allen on a fast break to give the Celtics a 23-10 lead with 3:05 left in the first.

The Lakers brought it down to five points before Boston scored 10 in a row to make it 40-25 midway through the second quarter. The Celtics took the lead to 22 points in the third and never by less than nine in the fourth.

Bryant scored eight points in the first quarter but missed his only shot in the second.

Notes: In the first quarter, Pierce became the ninth player in Celtics history to play over 25,000 minutes. The other eight have all had their numbers retired by the team, and all but Jo Jo White are in the Hall of Fame. John Havlicek is the team's career leader with 46,471. ... Ray Allen surpassed the 30,000 minute milestone for his career and is 103rd in NBA history. ... Other celebrities in the crowd: Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver; Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo; former Celtic and Laker Rick Fox and New England Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour.

Offseason reports that the Los Angeles Lakers had entered the sweepstakes to acquire Kevin Garnett must have thrilled disgruntled Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

Those rumors fizzled, however, and Garnett landed with the Boston Celtics, sparking a basketball renaissance in Boston and failing to quiet the chaos in Los Angeles.

Things have calmed down with Bryant and the Lakers off to a surprisingly good start, and on Friday they will visit Garnett and the Celtics in a matchup between teams that have fared well despite dramatically different offseasons.

The Lakers' summer was dominated by discussion of a possible trade of Bryant, who said he wanted out of Los Angeles in late May because he felt the Lakers hadn't committed to building a championship team around him.

Acquiring Garnett certainly would've appeased the league's two-time defending scoring champion, but Garnett instead went to the Celtics, who also brought in sharpshooter Ray Allen from Seattle. Garnett and Allen have joined Paul Pierce to make Boston the only team in the NBA with three players averaging at least 20.0 points.

After finishing last in the Eastern Conference at 24-58 in 2006-07, the new-look Celtics (9-1) have the best record in the NBA.

Meanwhile, the Lakers have essentially the same roster from last season, when they faded in the second half and went quietly in the first round of the playoffs against Phoenix.

Los Angeles (7-4), though, has started strong, ranking fourth in the league with 106.6 points per game while Bryant averages 26.9 - his lowest since 2003-04, when he shared the spotlight with Shaquille O'Neal.

Bryant and the Lakers had their four-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday at Milwaukee. They took a five-point lead into the fourth quarter but were outscored 35-23 in the last 12 minutes to fall 110-103.

Bryant had 27 points, but was 2-of-8 from 3-point range and 7-for-18 from the field as Los Angeles hit 43.1 percent - its worst shooting performance in five road games this season.

"Sometimes you just miss them," Bryant said. "You stay with it, you stay aggressive. We all pretty much shot the ball like (garbage). We had control of the game throughout except the fourth quarter, and it was an uphill battle from that point."

Boston, meanwhile, bounced back from its first defeat of the season - a two-point road loss against 10-3 Orlando - with another dominant home effort Wednesday against Golden State. Pierce and Garnett each went 8-for-14 from the field while combining for 39 points and 20 rebounds in the 105-82 victory.

"The good teams in this league never lose two in a row," said Allen, who led the Celtics with 21 points. "When you lose a game, you need to know how to respond."

Garnett is shooting 63.3 percent from the field at home, where Boston has won its first six games by an average of 19.2 points.

The Celtics, though, are expecting a challenge when the Lakers come to town. Boston's last four home victories have come against teams that currently have losing records, and three of those wins were over teams from the East, which despite the Celtics' revival, still has a reputation as the inferior conference.

"There are a lot of people talking about how the Western Conference is head over heels above the East," Pierce said. "The Lakers will be a good test for us."

Los Angeles won both games against Boston last season by an average of 19.5 points. Bryant averaged 40.5 points and 8.5 assists in those games.

Allen averaged 31.0 points, 5.5 assists and 3.5 steals in two games against Los Angeles last season while with Seattle.