Andrew Bynum popped champagne in the middle of the hallway outside the Lakers locker room.

Ron Artest lost his voice, screaming at the top of his lungs while clutching what the Lakers had worked for all season.

But the moment that may very well stand out was the image of Kobe Bryant circling the court, ball in hand while pointing to the crowd as purple and gold confetti and streamers fell from the Staples Center rafters.

The celebration was just starting as the Lakers gutted out an 83-79 victory over the Celtics Thursday in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to win back-to-back championships and notch the franchise's 16th title, one shy of tying arch-rival Boston.

"Well, it's done," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who won his 11th title. "It wasn't well done, but it was done.

"And we did it with perseverance."

The Lakers have now won their fifth championship in 11 years. Next season they will look to be the first team to 3-peat since they accomplished that feat from 2000-02.

Bryant was named the Finals MVP for the second straight season. Despite struggling in the series finale, he came through when it counted the most. Bryant scored 10 of his game-high 23 points in the final period, which included 8-for-9 from the free-throw line. He also had 15 rebounds.

After the game, Bryant admitted to having pressed too much as he struggled from the field, shooting a postseason-worst 6-for-24 from the field.

"I wanted it so, so bad," said Bryant, who now joins Laker great Magic Johnson with his fifth ring. "The more I tried to push, the more it kept getting away from me. I'm just glad that my teammates really got us back in the game."

When asked what this championship meant individually, Bryant had some fun.

"Just got one more than Shaq," he said. "You can take that to the bank. You know how I am. I don't forget anything."

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