Lakers keep NBA Finals alive

Kobe Bryant scored 25 points and Lamar Odom 20 to lead the Los Angeles Lakers past Boston 103-98 to keep there title hopes alive.Pau Gasol added 19 points and 13 rebounds while Derek Fisher had 15 points for the Lakers, who pulled within three games to two in the best-of-seven National Basketball Association Finals to force a sixth game on Tuesday in Boston. “We probably have to play better,” Bryant said. “We have played in tough environments before. We shot the ball like c**p in the games there before so we’re due.” No team has recovered from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA Finals. “We’re young enough and dumb enough to be able to do this,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. Boston’s Paul Pierce scored 38 points and grabbed a rebound with the Celtics trailing 97-95, but Bryant - the NBA Most Valuable Player - knocked the ball out of Pierce’s hands and to Fisher, who found Bryant for a breakaway dunk. Bryant had only gone 2-for-12 from the field since the first quarter before the critical steal and slam that gave the Lakers a 99-95 edge with 37 seconds remaining. “I was able to read the play, got my hands on the ball, made the play and got a dunk,” Bryant said. Fisher and Bryant each hit 1-of-2 free throws but Eddie House answered with a three-pointer for Boston, lifting the Celtics within 101-98. Fisher added two free throws to secure the triumph. Ray Allen added 16 points for Boston while Kevin Garnett added 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Celtics, who failed to capture their first NBA crown since 1986. Odom had five points in a 14-4 Lakers run over the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth that gave the hosts an 88-74 lead. But Sam Cassell came off Boston’s bench to ignite a 16-2 run, scoring the first seven Celtics points in the spurt. Pierce added four points and Garnett pulled Boston even to cap the run at 90-90 on a jumper with 4:35 to go, setting the stage for Bryant’s last-second heroics. Today’s first quarter was almost a replay of game four, where the Lakers stormed to a big lead only to squander it in the second half and lose in the most epic collapse in NBA Finals history. The Lakers led 39-22 at the first break but Boston got to three points behind, 55-52, by halftime. The Celtics went on a 10-3 run early in the third quarter to briefly take their only lead, the largest margin coming at 62-60 just 3:34 into the second half. But the Lakers answered with an 11-2 run and jumped to a 71-64 lead, outscoring Boston in the third quarter for the first time in the series.

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