Lakers off at wrong floor

BOSTON -- There were no dead spots in the parquet, no overheated locker rooms, no leprechauns waiting in the rafters to lend a helping hand.

The Boston Celtics were simply better than the Lakers, substantially, which meant one other thing: There’s still no rivalry.

The Celtics are back, but the Lakers have a ways to go, their 107-94 loss Friday being all the evidence needed at TD Banknorth Garden.

The Lakers never led, never really challenged the Celtics beyond the first six minutes and never came close to hearing the “Ko-be” and “M-V-P” chants that drifted down from the stands amid stunned silence during a one-sided Lakers victory here last season.

Instead, there was a derisive cheer of “Kooo-beeee” that started in the third quarter and very well could have followed the Lakers home.

Bryant had 28 points and little help from the starters, other than Derek Fisher’s 13 points. Lamar Odom had another subpar game (four points in 32 minutes), and Andrew Bynum had as many points (four) as fouls.

Coach Phil Jackson answered a few questions about the problems that befell the Lakers before going into mock shock when asked whether he would be back next season. He has been offered a contract extension but has yet to commit beyond this season.

“Please don’t ask me that question now after that horrible game,” he said dryly. “That was awful. Now is a terrible time to ask me. I resign.”

The Lakers-Celtics rivalry might be gone, but it’s certainly not forgotten. Fans booed when the scoreboard showed Rick Fox (who played for both teams) taking in the game as a spectator, and it was only a matter of time before a “Beat L.A.” chant gained traction (midway through the second quarter).

The newfound energy surrounding the Celtics is palpable at their home games. Celtics fans have unquestionably embraced Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, offering them loud ovations during introductions while saving plenty for the last player introduced, veteran forward Paul Pierce, who stuck through a series of underwhelming Celtics teams.

The Big Three had decent games Friday, but a fourth contributor unexpectedly popped up, defense-minded center Kendrick Perkins scoring a career-high 21 points. Garnett had 21, Pierce 20, Allen 18.

One Laker was duly impressed.

“Great team, great team,” Bryant said. “My reaction right now is that Danny [Ainge] did a great job putting that team together.”

Ainge is the Celtics’ executive director of basketball operations.

Last season, as Bryant had 38 points, eight rebounds and eight assists here, a handful of Lakers fans shouted his name in unison and surprised many observers.

Bryant didn’t think it would happen Friday.

“They read in the paper about all the chants and stuff,” he said. “You know that wasn’t going down again.”

The Lakers were down, 23-10, before the game was even nine minutes old, as the Celtics converted alley-oops, fastbreaks and almost everything in between.

Odom started slowly, failing to score until making a running seven-footer with 2:48 left in the second quarter. He added a layup with 1:33 to play to cap his scoring for the night.

“He’s trying to find a way,” Jackson said. “This year, he doesn’t have the ball in his hands as often. He’s still learning his way in the offense like that.”

Will it happen soon?

“We’d like him to solve it immediately,” Jackson said.

If the Lakers were looking for moral victories, there might have been only one -- the Celtics won their first six home games by an average of 22 points.

The Lakers trailed at halftime, 53-35, and would have fallen way out of it from there if Vladimir Radmanovic hadn’t scored all 18 of his points in the second half.

They actually cut the lead to 94-85 with 4:53 to play but came no closer.

“Since I’ve been in the league, they’ve [stunk],” Bryant said. “Now they’re kicking our butts.”

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com