Lakers look to pay back Celtics

Reporting from Boston —

It does not matter where the Lakers and Boston Celtics play each other.

That's because the rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics, the two teams with the most NBA championships, is so intense and historic.

They will square off Thursday night at the TD Garden, but the venue is not important.


Each team has won recently on the other's court.

The Lakers won here in the regular season last season, and they won Game 3 of the NBA Finals here in June. And the Celtics defeated the Lakers, 109-96, at Staples Center on Jan. 30 and won Game 2 in the Finals in Los Angeles last year.

"If we were to play a game in the park against that team, it would be hard-core and [trash] talking," Lamar Odom said after the Lakers' practice Wednesday. "It's always going to be intense when you respect a team. You don't have to disrespect a team to want to kick their [butt]. You have that much respect for them, which intensifies the game."

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