the previous record of 24 by the Lakers in 1988. 2010 NBA Finals This was the third straight year in which the Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals. Much of both rosters had been kept intact since the teams last meeting in 2008 and the Celtics' veterans Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Rasheed Wallace looked to add to their championship résumés, while Kobe Bryant and the Lakers looked to even the score against the Celtics. The Lakers were the defending champions, having beaten the Orlando Magic 4–1 in the 2009 NBA Finals. This was the first NBA Finals to go the full seven games since , and only the fourth since the NBA switched the Finals to a 2–3–2 format in . The Lakers won Game 1 102–89, led by Kobe Bryant's 30-point performance. However, Ray Allen would respond in Game 2 by scoring 32-points and sinking a record eight 3-pointers, leading the Celtics to a 103–94 victory. Game 3 returned to Boston, where the Lakers took a 2–1 series lead by winning 91–84, again led by Bryant but with strong support from Derek Fisher. Game 4 would prove to be a close and hard-fought game, with the Lakers up by two at the end of the third quarter. However, Boston's bench would prove to be the deciding factor, outscoring the Lakers 13–2 for nearly half the quarter, en route to a 96–89 victory. The Celtics won the game and evened the series. Despite an impressive 38-point performance from Bryant in Game 5, the Celtics would win 92–86 led by Paul Pierce's 27 points, and would take a 3–2 lead heading back to L.A. However, the Lakers opened up a massive lead in Game 6, peaking at 27. The Lakers' bench had outscored Boston's bench 24–0 entering the fourth quarter. The Lakers would win the game 89–67 and set up an epic Game 7. Both Kendrick Perkins of Boston and Andrew Bynum of Los Angeles were injured in this game. However, while Perkins was ruled out because of his injury, Bynum was cleared to play in Game 7. This was the fifth Game 7 between the Lakers and Celtics. Boston had won all previous Game 7 match-ups between the two teams. Kobe Bryant exhibited difficulties for much of the game, shooting only 6-for-24 from the field. However, he would score 10 of his game-high 24 points in the