Kobe Bryant scored 20 of his game-high 23 points in the second half to help his Lakers drop the Celtics 92-86 and even their season series at one apiece. And then he issued a warning to the four Celtics who will be attending the All-Star Game in Los Angeles next weekend.

“It doesn’t matter who I play,” said Bryant. “I could play you, and I’ll bust your ass.”

During a five-minute interview with the media following the Lakers’ victory, Bryant hit on everything from Ray Allen‘s record-breaking 3-pointer to the latest book assignment he’s received from coach Phil Jackson. Here’s a rundown of the conversation:

• On Ray’s record: “I just told him congratulations. It’s a mutual respect kind of thing, because we came into the league together. There’s not too many guys from that draft still playing and competing at a high level. I’m just very, very happy for him. We always compete when we go at it. That’s part of it. At this stage of our careers, there’s a respect because of that. I don’t get along with chumps very well, and he’s not a chump.”
• On the Garden: “It’s great. This is one of the best atmospheres — if not the best atmosphere — you can play in in the league today. This arena, what they do, this is a challenging place to play, but it’s a lot of fun.”
• On his play: “I wanted to be more aggressive in the first half, but I didn’t want to force it too much. I wanted to keep my guys in the game a little bit. In the second half, I just forced it. The game wasn’t coming to me, so I took it.”
• On the win: “It depends on where we go from here. We don’t go to New York and lay a dud. Then this game doesn’t much.”
• On the Lakers: “We always remain a pretty confident bunch. It’s good to see the hard work that we’ve been putting in paying off. We’re seeing results. From the last time we played them until now, we’ve gotten a little bit better in our defensive rotations, and we didn’t make as many mistakes down the stretch.”
• On the East: “[The Celtics] are right up there. It’s them and Miami. We’ve played against Boston twice and Miami once, and they look good.”