Lakers were the more physical team in their Game 1 victory.

Yep, that was as clear as crystal after the Lakers dismantled the Celtics to start the 2010 NBA Finals, but Coach Doc Rivers’ Boston team vows to play with renewed urgency Sunday, and Lakers are trying to prepare for it. Adding fuel to the fire: Lakers’ Pau Gasol suggests Celtics’ Kevin Garnett has lost a step.

The aggressive tone in Game 1 surprised no one within the confines of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ locker room. They’d been taking a bellicose stance for several days. Their video coordinators inserted an inspirational speech from the war movie “Patton” into a team video session before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, joining the continual clips of “Inglourious Basterds” Lakers Coach Phil Jackson has insisted on including to foment an us-against-the-bad-guys mantra, a trend started by the team earlier in the playoffs with the Quentin Tarantino anti-Nazi movie.

Something’s obviously working. The Lakers stood strong against the ominous front line of the Boston Celtics, an event that was still the talk of the NBA Finals a day after the Lakers’ 102-89 victory.

“I thought one team was physical,” Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said, and he wasn’t talking about his own. The Lakers dominated all the power categories, winning points in the paint, rebounds and second-chance opportunities with ease, though they didn’t think it would be as simple in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series Sunday at Staples Center.

Their thinking: There’s no chance Kevin Garnett again takes only one rebound through three quarters, no way Kendrick Perkins has three rebounds in 24 minutes, little chance Kobe Bryant drives in and out of the teeth of the Celtics’ defense with such freedom.

“I think they’ll make it much more difficult for us to get to the basket,” Jackson said.

The Celtics will need to do something if they don’t want to go back to Boston with a two-game deficit. Pau Gasol was unstoppable Thursday, taking eight offensive rebounds and scoring on three put-backs against Garnett. Andrew Bynum played a surprising number of minutes (28) and was efficient enough with 10 points and six rebounds.

Some observers characterized the Celtics as being passive, even soft. “They would be right,” Rivers said. “We were.”

The Lakers have vaguely been here before, on the opposite end, getting drubbed by the Celtics in Game 1 of the 1985 Finals, the infamous “Memorial Day Massacre.” Let’s see how Boston comes back from Game 1.

Which team will win the 2010 NBA Finals? Bodog sportsbook has the odds for Game 1.

Los Angeles Lakers -5.5

Boston Celtics +5.5

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Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers