Los Angeles Lakers' guard Kobe Bryant (24) blows on his fingers after scoring a three-point basket against Denver Nuggets during Game Two of their NBA basketball first-round play-off series at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. Bryant scored a game-high 49 points and the Lakers won 122-107. - AP

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (AP):

THE DETROIT Pistons routed the Philadelphia 76ers 105-88 to even their NBA first-round play-offs series at a win apiece on Wednesday night.

Four of the Pistons starters scored in double figures as they took a 17-point lead, then all but Richard Hamilton rested in the last quarter, while the 76ers had only Andre Miller, who scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half.

In the Game One loss, the Pistons blew a 15-point they built midway through the third quarter. They refused to let the young Sixers rally again, swarming them on defence and relentlessly going after offensive rebounds for second and third chances.

Boston's victory

In Boston, Kevin Garnett had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo added 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds to lead Boston to a 96-77 victory over Atlanta and a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.

Paul Pierce returned from a first-quarter knockdown to score 14 points, and Kendrick Perkins added eight points and nine rebounds for the Celtics.

In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant had 49 points and 10 assists, and Los Angeles beat Denver 122-107 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round play-off series.

Bryant, who was 18-for-27 from the field, scored 20 points in the first quarter to get the Lakers off to a fast start, and 19 over the last seven minutes to keep them safely ahead. He left with 2:02 remaining to chants of "MVP, MVP" from the capacity crowd at Staples Center.