Lakers beat Suns to set up NBA finals rematch with Celtics

Kobe Bryant carried his Laker teammates on his back as Los Angeles closed out Phoenix with a 111-103 win in game six to set up a rematch with the Boston Celtics.

Bryant fired a game high of 37 points Saturday and Ron Artest added 25 and the Lakers held off a late Suns' rally to win the National Basketball Association semi-final series 4-2.

Bryant made one shot late and tapped Gentry on the shoulder then spread his arms wide like a bird and glided down the floor towards the Lakers bench for a timeout.

"He is an assassin," Suns' coach Alvin Gentry said of Bryant. "Was that Kobe or Michael? I couldn't tell. We did everything we possibly could. He single handedly got them over the hump. We did a great job on everyone else."

The Lakers and Celtics will meet in the finals for the 11th time with game one Thursday in Los Angeles. Boston beat the Lakers two years ago for their 17th championship banner.

"We remember losing to them on our home court," Bryant said. "We had some defensive lapses and they took advantage. This year we have home court advantage."

Bryant scored nine points in the final two minutes of Saturday's game to blunt a Suns' rally. He put the Lakers up 107-100 with 34 seconds left, by hitting a 23 footer with Phoenix defender Grant Hill draped all over him.

Amare Stoudemire scored 27 points but struggled to a seven-of-20 shooting. It could have marked Stouemire's last game with Phoenix.

Canadian Steve Nash had 21 points and nine assists in his 118th playoff game, the most for anyone who has never reached the finals.

Bryant recorded his 10th 30-point performance in his last 11 playoff games. He moved ahead of Jerry West and into a tie with Kareem Abdul Jabbar for second-most 30-point playoff games at 75. Michael Jordan holds the all-time mark with 109.

Channing Frye finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds for Phoenix, who never have won a championship.

"I thought we had a chance to do something special. We finished up strong and I got to say this is a great source of pride to play with these guys," Nash said of his teammates.

Slovenian hero Goran Dragic scored 10 of his 12 points in a fourth-quarter rally that got Phoenix within three points of the Lakers.

Los Angeles led by as much as 18 points late in the second and were ahead by 17 at the end of the third. But the Suns bench came alive and got them back in it.

"With a three-point shooting team like Phoenix," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, "you know that any lead is not impossible."

With Bryant on the bench, Dragic scored the first eight points of the fourth to cut the Lakers lead to 91-82 with just over 10 minutes remaining.

The Lakers' Sasha Vujacic drew a flagrant foul for an elbow to the face of his fellow Slovenian with 11:18 to play.

Dragic made both free throws, then blew by Vujacic for a layup to cut it to 91-80 with 11:12 left. Dragic drove for another layup on the next possession.

Vujacic said he reacted because his national team teammate said something about his family.

"I didn't mean to intentionally hurt him," Vujacic said.

Last year, the Lakers secured their 15th title with a five-game win over Orlando, but two years ago the Celtics topped Los Angeles in six games.

The Celtics are coming off a six-game series win over Orlando in the other semi-final.

"We'll see how much we have matured," Bryant said. "They challenged us extremely well in the finals a couple years ago. Now is a chance to see how much we've grown."