Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics

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There is no second-place rivalry in this sport. Everything else is a fixture; this is the thing the league was built on, and the building knows it from the moment the away sweaters start appearing in the concourse - green, in numbers, worn by people who have flown a long way to be outnumbered and are entirely comfortable with that. The noise is different for this one. Calls go against the home side and the reaction is not irritation but something closer to grievance, inherited and well rehearsed. January is early enough that the standings do not yet distort it, which means you get the rivalry undiluted. This is the second-hardest ticket of the regular season here after Christmas. Everybody who was ever going to go has already decided, so decide now rather than in a fortnight. Get there early for the warmup. The away support gathers behind one basket and the sound when their players come out is unlike anything else this building produces in a regular season.