The Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers rivalry got one of its more defense-heavy chapters on Thursday night at the TD Garden in Boston. It was fitting, then, that a defensive play gave Los Angeles the victory in overtime: after a Paul Pierce miss, Pau Gasol blocked a Ray Allen attempt at a buzzer-beater to preserve the Lakers' 88-87 win.

Gasol gave the Lakers a great night, with 25 points and 14 rebounds, and combined with Kobe Bryant (27 points, leading all scorers) and Andrew Bynum (16 points, 15 rebounds) to score 68 of Los Angeles' 88 points on the night. Bynum tipped in a Bryant miss for the game-winning basket with 1:29 left in overtime.

The Celtics were similarly reliant on their "Big Four": Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, and Ray Allen combined for 66 of Boston's 67 points on the night.

Neither team topped 23 points in a quarter after Boston opened with 26 in the first period.

For more on the Celtics, visit SB Nation Boston and CelticsBlog. For more on the Lakers, visit SB Nation L.A. and Silver Screen And Roll.