LOS ANGELES (AP) -The Los Angeles Lakers have begun a victory parade to celebrate the team’s 16th NBA title.
A huge cheering crowd has lined the two-mile route through Los Angeles since early Monday to see the team roll by on a flatbed truck.
A heavy police presence has been deployed along the route, and Chief Charlie Beck says officers will not tolerate a repeat of the violence and vandalism that erupted last week after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the championship series.
This year’s celebration is less elaborate than in the past, with no rallies before or after the parade.
Last year’s parade culminated in a rally that filled Memorial Coliseum, but there was also debate over costs absorbed by the financially strained city.
The Lakers are paying this year’s tab.
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