In what seemed to be the last game of the Lakers at the Staples Center, the Celtics found themselves lying flat on their backs as Kobe and Company played inspired basketball in front of their home crowd. Wearing their white alternate home jerseys, The Lakers proved to be resilient and never gave up a fight with a 103-98 victory over the mighty Celtics.
With that in mind, the series will now shift to Boston and the Lakers will have to steal a couple of wins at the Celtics' home court.
The Lakers started out strong leading 39-22 in the first quarter. Kobe Bryant played like an MVP racking up 25 points and Lamar Odom chipped in 20 points as the Lakers were able to keep the C's in winning their 17th championship in their home floor. Mamba was right after all, it wasn't over yet.
Much like in Game 4, the Celtics wouldn't go away. They kept the game close as possible despite a few Celtics players in foul trouble.
The Celtics Big 3 were shut down and were all in foul trouble. Kevin Garnett was forced to sit out most of the 2nd quarter after picking up 3 fouls early in the game. The Lakers made defensive adjustments keeping Ray Allen in check and Paul Pierce's shots were challenged whenever he drove to the basket or took jump shots. Despite all that, Pierce scored 38 points to keep themselves in contention with the Lakers scoring onslaught. Kevin Garnett chalked up 13 points while Ray Allen scored 16 points.
Rajon Rondo had 16 points but did not return late in the second half. Veteran guard Sam Cassell picked up the slack for Rondo and got extended minutes as he contributed 9 points. As Expected, Kendrick Perkins did not play due to his shoulder injury which he endured in Game 4. Tony Allen made his first appearance in the finals as he scored 6 points for the Celtics. Eddie House also had 6 points, made a clutch 3-pointer the could've kept the game close with only 15 ticks in the 4th quarter.
Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher were in double figures for the Lakers chipping in 19 and 15 points respectively. Gasol was a huge factor shutting down Kevin Garnett on the defensive end. Jordan Farmar sparked the Lakers' offense yet again racking up 11 points. But it was Kobe's big steal on Pierce and the two-handed dunk in the break was the exclamation point.
In the end, the most motivated and inspired team won the game. That's what coach Phil Jackson had in mind. He somewhat spoiled what could've been a title clinching victory for the Celtics. It was indeed an encore performance for the Lake show.
The Celtics must now wrap up the series at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston and win it all in Game 6. Doc Rivers will have to make adjustments as his team is one player short in their line-up. Perkins was a big loss for the C's in terms of rebounding and added post presence. The Celtics are 12-1 at home in the post season. No road team has won the last 2 games in an NBA Finals series since the 2-3-2 format was adapted in 1985.
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