The NBA star married his fiancee, interior designer Julie Landrum, in an oceanfront ceremony Saturday (Jul 17) on the coast of California in a very small wedding that included less than 100 guests. The couple’s 2-year-old daughter Prianna was the flower girl.

Pierce, 32, and his 27-year-old bride exchanged vows underneath a gazebo at The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast, California and after the ceremony, guests, which included Pierce’s teammates Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, along with their coach Doc Rivers, headed to an indoor reception where the newlyweds shared their first dance to R. Kelly‘s “You Made Me Love You.”

Congrats to Paul and his new wife!

The Los Angeles Lakers showed up prepared with a vengeance in the Staples Center Thursday night (Jun. 17) but almost suffered a defeat against the Boston Celtics in a tough seven game series in the 2010 NBA Finals! This also was the first seven game series in the Finals since 2005 and this season ended with a battle between NBA’s biggest rivals.

The Lakers prospered a victory by 4 points leaving the score 83-79. Although Kobe Bryant got 23 points and 2 assists, he was only 25% of successful field goals in Game 7 and it showed throughout the entire game. Bryant showed his gratitude for his teammates who performed to help the Lakers achieve it’s 16th championship title:

“This one is by far the sweetest, because it’s them,” Bryant said, “This was the hardest one by far. I wanted it so bad, and sometimes when you want it so bad, it slips away from you. My guys picked me up.”

Kobe also expressed how it felt to win his 5th ring individually as a player:

“Just got one more than Shaq … so you can take that to be bank” he laughs and continues, “You guys know how I am, I don’t forget anything…”

Coach Phil Jackson added his 11th ring to his collection and marked his fifth championship with the Los Angeles Lakers. Although, he seems prepared for another season this may be his very last game with Lakers due to health concerns and a pay cut. Jackson rejoiced with happiness of his current victory while wearing a championship cap but still is hesitant about his return:

“I’ve got to take a deep breath. I’ve got to take some time to think about this,” Jackson said, “This was great. I’ll wait to make that decision in a week.”

Kobe added, “”He knows how bad I want him back,” Bryant said. “I’ve been openly blunt about how much I want him back.”

Laker Ron Artest, with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals, performed with clutch-ness last night in Game 7 and literally shifted the game’s ending score by scoring a three-pointer in the final seconds of the game. This will be the first championship victory for Artest and he showed that enthusiasm in every interview all night:

“I always told people it’s about the total points, it’s about what we do as a team” he continued, “It’s not about what I did, although I had 20 points, I still think we accomplished that as a team.”

Pau Gasol scored 19 points and 18 rebounds with 4 assists. Boston Celtics’ coach Doc Rivers expressed his emotional distress this series has cause to himself and his team:

“We were the tightest, most emotional, crazy group I’ve ever been around in my life. There’s a lot of crying in that locker room,” Rivers said. “A lot of people who care. I don’t think there was a dry eye. A lot of hugs, a lot of people feeling awful. That’s a good thing. Showed a lot of people cared.”

Rajon Rondo scored 14 points, 10 rebounds and 8 rebounds. Paul Pierce finished with 18 points, while Kevin Garnett had 17 points, 2 assists and 4 blocks. The Celtics played a great series but regardless the Lakers played better offensively and defensively. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers for an amazing effort. Until next year, Go Lakers!

Despite the two games the Boston Celtics won in a row back at home, that didn’t stop the Los Angeles Lakers from showing them whose house they were playing in Tuesday night (Jun 15) during Game 6 of the 2010 NBA Finals!

The Lakers tied the series last night (3-3) and blew the Celtics out by 22 points (89-67) in the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant, who scored 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists, had a conscious team Tuesday night and didn’t have to feel like he was competing alone. Bryant expressed his happiness in his teammates conscious change since Game 5:

“I was very happy,” Bryant said, “We did a great job defensively. We kept them out of the middle, kept them out of the paint, did a good job on the boards. It was a solid effort by us.” he continued “We’re used to being in must-win situations, The way we look at it, [Game 7] is just a game we’ve got to win. … I don’t mean to be a buzzkill. I know what’s at stake, but I’m not tripping.”

Pau Gasol scored 17 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists. Gasol indeed “manned up” and understands what has to be done in order to win ring number two:

“We want to carry everything we did tonight to [Game 7], and then I think we’ll be in a very good place to win,” Gasol said. “When you bring the intensity we did tonight, good things are going to happen.”

A whole new team showed up on the court in L.A. for both sides and it will cause some trouble for the Boston Celtics. Doc Rivers may have to re-assemble his starting line-up due to Kendrick Perkins injury in the first quarter Tuesday night and may not return Game 7 in L.A. Rajon Rondo achieved 10 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and says that he’s over Game 6 and is looking forward to Game 7:

“To me, the game is over,” Rondo said. “We have one game [left]. They have one game. All or nothing. [Game 6] is in the past.”

Ray Allen scored a total of 19 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds. Paul Pierce put up 18 points and 3 assists. Tune to ABC at 9PM/ET Thursday night (June 17) witness Game 7. In the meantime watch the video recap to see what happened Game 6 below!

The Boston Celtics outplayed the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 Sunday night (Jun 13) on their home court in the TD Bank North Garden. Kobe Bryant was just not enough to win the last game in Boston alone and led them to a loss by 6 (92-86) and the series now stand in Boston’s favor (3-2). Bryant managed to score 90% of the points in the 3rd quarter and totaled 38 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Kobe talked briefly about the performance from his teammates after the game:

“Just man up and play. What the hell is the big deal?” he said. “If I have to say something to them, then we don’t deserve to be champions. We’re down 3-2: Go home, win one game, go into the next one. Simple as that.”

The Celtics did just that. Paul Pierce obtained 27 points, Kevin Garnett scored 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo had 18 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds. With only one game closer to the championship Pierce explains his excitement to the media:

“It was our biggest game of the year,” Pierce said. “We’re in a good spot. We have two games in L.A.; now we have to get one.”

Games 6 and 7 will be played in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. Game 6 airs Tuesday, June 15th on ABC 9:00PM/ET. Check out the video recap of Game 5 below.

The Boston Celtics picked up a few four-leaf clovers from the TD Garden Thursday night (Jun 10) and luckily won Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers to tie the series (2-2). The Celtics’ bench managed to help them win by 7 (89-96). Glen “Big Baby” Davis scored 18 points which significantly led the Celtics to a victory they needed to win. There was no plan to come out to prosper in this game Davis explained:

“Just will, that’s all it is,” Davis said. “This is what legends are made of, this is where you grasp the moment. … Just play in the moment.”

“All I’m thinking about is, ‘Let’s win,’” Davis continued. “I’m not thinking about anything else. I’m not even thinking about Kobe making all these shots, worried about this or worried about that. I’m just worried about winning, whatever it takes to win, and just making sure that I give my teammates positive energy to finish out the game.”

Boston Celtic Paul Pierce scored 19 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Ray Allen managed to get 12 points in Game 4 slowly recovering from his missing streak in Game 3. Top performer of the game Kobe Bryant scored 33 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. Bryant briefly talked about how the game turned from their favor to ending in a loss:

“They got all the energy points, the hustle points, second chance points, points in the paint, beat us to the loose balls,” Bryant said. “I mean, that’s how the game turned around.”

An injured starting center, Andrew Bynum was also a factor in the Lakers loss in Game 4. Hopefully, the worst has come and left. The Lakers’ vengeance is only fueling higher. Tune in to Game 5 Sunday night (Jun. 13) at 8PM/ET on ABC. Check out the slobbering “Big Baby” roar after scoring below

The Los Angeles Lakers redeemed themselves with a victory last night (Tues. Jun 8) at the TD Bank North Garden in Boston Game 3 and are now leading the series (2-1) against the Boston Celtics. The Lakers took Game 3 by 7 points, ending with 91-84. Derek Fisher was a key component to this win, knocking down difficult shots and making hard plays within the first ten minutes of the 4th quarter. Kobe Bryant, who scored a total of 29 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks, acknowledged the effort his teammate Fisher put up after he wasn’t attempting to score in the 4th quarter:

“Truthfully, he’s done it over and over and over again,” said Bryant, ”So it’s almost his responsibility to our team to do these things.”

Fisher spoke to the media afterwards and explained what fueled his energy in Game 3 Tuesday night:

“Our thoughts are really just still on how disappointed we are, or were, losing that second game on our home court. I think that had more of our attention and focus than what happened in ’08,” Fisher said. “We didn’t doubt our ability to win here. … We understand when you want to be the best, you have to win wherever, whenever.”

The Celtics’ Ray Allen almost broke another record in Game 3 after following his tremendous performance in Game 2, but this time not so great. Allen had a total of 2 points and missed all 13 field goal attempts he put up, excluding his free throws, one field goal attempt of the NBA finals futility record.  While Kevin Garnett improved from his Game 1 and Game 2 performances in Game 3 with 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists, he discussed his disappointment in the lack of offensive strategies that took place Tuesday night:

“It’s very frustrating, very frustrating when you don’t play well offensively,” Garnett said. “But defensively, you know, you sort of buckle down and get the stops and things that you want and you get back into the game only to come up short. he continued ”Yeah, that’s real disappointing.”

Both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol of the Lakers had a total of 10 rebounds helping the their team progress to victory in Game 3. Tune in to Game 4, Thursday night June 10th in Boston on ABC at 9:00PM/ET. Check out video footage of the recap courtesy of the NBA below!

Sunday night (June 6), the Boston Celtics showed up in Los Angeles at the Staples Center and tied the series (1-1) between the Los Angeles Lakers. Ray Allen (of the Celtics) pretty much carried the whole team on his back this game. Allen hit an NBA Finals record, eight 3-pointers, on Sunday night with 32 points and 2 assists, and led the Celtics to a victory by 9 points (103 – 94). LA Laker Kobe Bryant, who had 21 points, had something to say about his team’s loss:

“It’s the most important game. Game 1 was the most important, Game 2 was the most important, now it’s Game 3,” Bryant said. “It’s just the next game, simple as that.”

The Celtics’ Rajon Rondo achieved a triple double with a total of 19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Rondo said:

“The best part about getting a triple-double is getting a win,” Rondo continued. “That’s pretty much it. It would be pointless to get a triple-double and lose the game.”

Game 3 will be in Boston Garden at the TD Banknorth Garden Tuesday June 8th on ABC at 9PM/ET!

LOS ANGELES // WEDNESDAY, JULY 17TH 2008 » The 2008 ESPY Awards presented by ESPN went down last night at the NOKIA Theatre. The celebs and athletes came out to honor the biggest events in the world of sports from the 2007-2008 calendar year. David Beckham, Derek Fisher, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Forest Whitaker, Carmelo Anthony, Candace Parker and more all showed up in support of the nominees for ESPYs last night. Check out more photos from the Red Carpet below and after the break!

(PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES)