Lakers defeat Suns, wrap up West 4-2

PHOENIX - Get ready, Boston, for a rematch with Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers.

Bryant wrapped up a magnificent series with 37 points and Ron Artest added 25 as the Lakers held off the Phoenix Suns, 111-103, last night to win the Western Conference finals in six games.

The Lakers and Celtics, the league's premier teams for much of its history, will meet in the NBA Finals for the 12th time, with Game 1 Thursday night in Los Angeles.

"We'll see how much we 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."

Bryant scored nine points in the final two minutes, including what looked like an impossible 23-footer with Grant Hill in his face and 34 seconds to play. The basket put Los Angeles up 107-100 and the scrappy Suns were finished.

Amar'e Stoudemire, in what might have been his last game with the Suns, scored 27 points but struggled to a 7-for-20 shooting night.

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

Bryant, with his 10th 30-point performance in his last 11 postseason games, moved ahead of Jerry West and into a tie with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the second-most 30-point playoff games at 75. He has a ways to go for the record - 109 held by Michael Jordan.

Channing Frye had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Suns, who have reached the Finals only twice in their history and never have won a championship. Goran Dragic scored 10 of his 12 points in a fourth-quarter rally that got Phoenix within three points.

The Lakers led by as many as 18 late in the second quarter and were up by 17 entering the fourth. But four Suns reserves plus Stoudemire got the Suns back into it after Los Angeles took a 91-74 lead into the fourth quarter.

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

Los Angeles will be going for its second straight title and No. 16 overall. The Celtics still have the edge, hanging their 17th banner with their victory two years ago in six games.

"We remember more than anything losing on our home court, a situation where we had some defensive lapses and they took advantage of it," Jackson said. "This year we have homecourt advantage, and we look forward to the rematch with great intensity."

The Celtics are 9-2 against the Lakers in the Finals, having dominated the series for decades even against the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor until Los Angeles won twice in the 1980s.