LOS ANGELES - The mood in the locker room was familiar. 

It was a quiet satisfaction, a sense of pride contained by the reality of the accomplishment. It was a mood that has been exuded in the Celtics locker room throughout the playoffs, a mood that says, “We won the game, but we still haven’t done anything yet.” 

Only on Thursday night, the mood was coming from the Lakers locker room. 

The Lakers defended their home court and claimed an important 102-89 victory over the Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA finals. Yet this veteran team was well aware they still have a long road ahead if they want to get three more W’s. 

“At this point, the important thing is to win every game,” said Kobe Bryant. “A good start, that’s absolutely the key. You want to take Game 1 and now it’s Game 2. We want to win Game 2 and so on and so on. It’s not necessarily about having a great start as much as it is trying to win the series.”

The Lakers were aware of how well the Celtics had been playing on the road throughout the postseason. The C’s had won five playoff games away from TD Garden, including series-changing victories in Games 1 and 2 against the Magic in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and posed a threat of stealing homecourt from the Lakers. 

The Celtics all along have stressed the importance of imposing their will on the road -- attack first, set the tone with defense. 

But the Lakers made sure that didn’t happen. The Celtics biggest lead of the game was two points. It happened on the first basket of the night, and they trailed the rest of the way. 

It was important for the Lakers to take an early lead, both in Game 1 and in the series. But Game 2 is just two days away and it is their last chance to win at home before hitting the road for a three-game swing in Boston. 

“[Winning Game 1] is very important, but it loses a lot of its importance if we don’t win the next home game because they’re going to have three straight at home,” said Luke Walton. “We know how good and how dangerous they are on the road. We’ve got to be happy for this one, but not get lazy and not let up at all.” 

Like the Celtics do after every victory, the Lakers will look to see what they could have done better. Ron Artest, for example, said the Lakers didn’t play 48 minutes of basketball. 

They’ll watch game tape, break down plays, and work on drills in practice. They know the Celtics will come out looking to right their wrongs in Game 2, and they have to be prepared. 

“I think we want to shoot the ball better from the free throw line,” said Lamar Odom of the Lakers’ 77 percent free throw shooting. “We want to keep them off the free throw line. Especially at the end of the game when we have a lead, we want to run the offense a little better. We want to do a better job at getting to our spots offensively, moving the ball.” 

Added Phil Jackson, “We’ve got to play this out and we know this is a team that’s got a multitude of changes, lineups, activities, capabilities. Our defense, I think, stiffened at various points in the game … So we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but it’s nice to know that that’s on our side.” 

The Lakers have been in the playoffs more than enough times to know that nothing is guaranteed after a Game 1 victory. So do the Celtics. 

“We could’ve done better,“ said Artest. “But that’s what Game 2 is for.”