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Bryant faces new-look Celtics for first time

Nov 23, 2007 - 3:32 PM LA Lakers (7-4) at Boston (9-1) 7:30 pm EST

BOSTON (Ticker) -- If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to cool off the Boston Celtics, they may need Kobe Bryant's best performance.

Bryant looks to help the Lakers bounce back in the finale of a three-game road swing when they meet the surging Celtics on Friday.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles saw its four-game winning streak come to an end in a 110-103 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks despite 27 points from Bryant, a two-time scoring champion.

"We didn't shoot the ball well," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We had guys shooting that shouldn't have been shooting down the stretch."

Boston continues to enjoy early success on the shoulders of its "Big Three" of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

Most recently, the trio combined for 60 points to help the Celtics coast to an easy 105-82 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday here.

Los Angeles has won the three previous three meetings in this series, including the last two matchups on the road. Bryant averaged 40.5 points in both contest a season ago.