Lakers rout Celtics to force game seven

Kobe Bryant had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Pau Gasol scored 17 points as Los Angeles Lakers routed Boston Celtics 89-67 on Tuesday to force a game seven in the 2010 NBA finals.

Forward Ron Artest finished with 15 points for the Lakers who were facing elimination for the first time in the best-of-seven series after losing back-to-back games in the Boston Garden Arena.

"Our defence was good and our rebounding was better. We had some luck, some good fortune," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

"Got some loose balls, some tipped balls. Those kind of things change the course of a game."

Forward Lamar Odom and guard Sasha Vujacic helped pace the Lakers attack by combining to score 17 points off the bench as Los Angeles improved to 10-1 in the post-season at home.

The Lakers will host game seven tonight, marking just the second time in 16 years the championship series has gone seven games.

The last time these two teams were locked in a game six finals tussle, the Celtics routed the Lakers 131-92 to clinch the 2008 title.

Bryant and company would not let that happen in front of a crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center Arena on Tuesday as their bench outscored the Celtics counterparts 24-0 through the first three quarters.

The Lakers were also determined to avoid what happened to them in the 2008 finals when they blew a 24-point lead to the Celtics in losing game four.

"We did a great job defensively, we kept them out of the middle and kept them out of the paint," Bryant said.

Ray Allen finished with 19 points and Kevin Garnett had 12 points and just six rebounds for the Celtics who looked anything but the team that compiled the second best road record in the league this season.

The Celtics' 67 points was the lowest total in a finals game in franchise history.