Bryant, Artest rally Lakers to 16th championship

LOS ANGELES Lakers -- Purple and gold confetti raining down upon him, Kobe Bryant hopped up on the scorer's table, shook his fists and extended five fingers.

When he hopped down, Boston's legendary Hall of Fame center Bill Russell was waiting to shake his hand.

A Game 7 classic -- and this time, it finally went the Lakers' way.

Bryant, the Finals MVP, scored 23 points despite 6-of-24 shooting, and the Lakers won their 16th NBA championship Thursday night, dramatically rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Celtics 83-79 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

The Lakers are the first team to rally from a 3-2 deficit to win a Finals since Houston did it in 1994, beating the New York Knicks. Although Los Angeles stumbled to the brink of elimination for the first time in these playoffs last weekend in Boston, Bryant's teams still are spectacular finishers: They've closed out their playoff opponents on the first try 10 times while winning three straight Western Conference titles over the last three years.

Home teams improved to 14-3 in Game 7 in the Finals. No road team has won a title in Game 7 since 1978. ... The Lakers are 14-1 in a seventh game at home, losing only the 1969 finale to Boston. ... Garnett nearly flattened Jack Nicholson when he chased a loose ball into the front row in the second quarter, but the Lakers' most famous fan got back up smiling. Other fans near courtside included Jake Gyllenhaal, Kirsten Dunst, Ryan Seacrest, Timbaland, director Todd Phillips and George Lopez in purple-and-yellow plaid pants.