Boston Backs Lakers To Brink, Take Game 5 With 92-86 Victory

Kevin Garnett tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Rajon Rondo contributed 18 points and eight assists for the Celtics, who hold a 3-2 lead in the best- of-seven series and are a victory away from their second title in three years. They polished off the Lakers in six games in 2008.

The Celtics can finish off the Lakers in Game 6 Tuesday in Los Angeles. If the Lakers win, a deciding Game 7 would be Thursday, again at Staples Center.

Bryant scored 28 of his 38 points in the second half for the Lakers, who had won their previous 14 playoff games when a series was tied. Bryant had little offensive support as the next best scorer was Pau Gasol with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Coming off their 96-89 Thursday win, the Celtics were up by 12 points with under three minutes left, but had to hold on to take the lead in the series.

Rondo, who went 9-of-12 from the field, was all over the court. The point guard, who had seven of his team’s 17 turnovers, came up with several big plays in the final quarter.

Pierce missed a three-pointer, but Rondo, at 6-foot-1, leaped higher than the 6-foot-10 Lamar Odom of the Lakers to tip the ball in for an 87-75 lead with just under four minutes remaining.

The Lakers scored the ensuing seven points, the final three coming from Bryant after he was fouled on a long-distance shot by Ray Allen for an 87-82 margin. But the Celtics then caught a break.

Allen’s three-pointer was way off the mark as the shot clock expired and the Celtics got the rebound. The Lakers argued for a shot clock violation, but after a replay, officials ruled that the ball grazed the rim and Boston was given possession with 1:05 remaining.

Rasheed Wallace missed a three-pointer, but Derek Fisher then won a jump ball with Garnett and Ron Artest was fouled at the other end by Pierce on a breakaway layup attempt with 43.3 seconds left. However, Artest missed both foul shots and Bryant cried for a foul while crashing the boards, but the whistles were silent by the officials.

Pierce was trapped and called a timeout with 38.9 seconds left, giving Boston just four seconds to get the ball over halfcourt. Boston then essentially sealed the win with an incredible play from Pierce and Rondo. Pierce received a long outlet pass from Garnett, was falling out of bounds on the right side when he tossed the ball to a streaking Rondo for a layup with 35.2 seconds on the clock.

The Lakers never got it to a one-possession game, closing only within five two times in the waning seconds.

Boston held a slim 22-20 lead after the opening quarter and the Celtics moved up 30-22 just over three minutes into the second, but a pair of three-pointers by Artest highlighted an 11-4 run later by the Lakers as they took a 37-36 edge.

The game turned ugly during that spurt. With 4:42 left in the first half, Garnett went up for a shot in the lane, but tumbled to the floor after being fouled by Artest. Rondo darted into the lane, shoved Artest and was whistled for a technical foul.

Bryant made the technical foul shot, but Garnett countered by sinking his two at the line. A three-ball by Artest and an inside basket from Bryant gave LA the one-point edge.

It didn’t last long, as Pierce drained a three-pointer and a tip-in credited to Kendrick Perkins moved the Celtics to a 41-37 lead inside three minutes to go. They were up 45-39 at the half.

Bryant was a one-man scoring machine in the third quarter, racking up his team’s first 19 points of the period and 23 in a row going back to the first half. Despite this, the Lakers were never closer than seven the entire quarter. Bryant even had a highlight-reel play, converting a one-handed alley- oop bucket off a pass from Fisher.

While Bryant was spectacular in the third, the Celtics were on target, going 12-of-19 from the field in the stanza. Pierce had 11 points, as Boston took a 73-65 cushion into the final quarter.

The team that wins Game 5 in a best-of-seven series tied 2-2 is 130-26 in those series all-time…If the Celtics win the series it would also reverse an incredible trend. When Phil Jackson wins Game 1 of any playoff series, best- of-five or best-of-seven, his teams are 47-0. When holding a series lead of any kind, Jackson’s teams are 54-1 all-time…The Lakers ended 39.7 percent from the field, compared to 56.3 for Boston…Allen had 12 points….Bryant was 13-of-27 from the field, including 4-of-10 from beyond the arc…Lakers center Andrew Bynum, dealing with a sore knee, had six points in over 31 minutes of court time…Boston held a 14-3 advantage in fast-break points and a 46-32 margin on points in the paint.