Boston holds off a late rally by Los Angeles to win 108-102 and take a 2-0 lead in the Finals.

For 40 minutes, Boston ferociously protected their home court, dominating Los Angeles by as much as 24 points. But Los Angeles, powered by Kobe’s 13 fourth-quarter points, staged a late rally to bring the score to 104-102.

As the Boston crowd grew nervous, Paul Pierce delivered the response the team needed by driving the lane, drawing a foul and hitting two clutch free throws. As L.A. tried to respond with a quick basket, Pierce blocked the shot. His late-game heroics gave Boston some breathing room as they closed out L.A. with a 108-102 win.

Boston took a 2-0 lead in the series and learned a lesson about what happens when you let up on a team led by Kobe Bryant.

“I think we got kind of complacent with the lead,'’ Pierce said. “We weren’t staying aggressive. We let them pick up their pressure. We stopped guarding. We got to take a lesson from this fourth quarter to keep playing regardless of the score and finish the game.'’

Kobe finished the game with 30 points and will be looking forward to three-straight games back in Los Angeles. Game 3 is Tuesday.