The Boston Celtics ended their last home game of the season on a high note with a 92–86 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of the NBA finals on Sunday.
Boston now leads the series 3–2 and heads back to L.A. for a possible Game 6 closeout on Tuesday.
Paul Pierce finally got into his champion groove in this series scoring 27 points to lead the Celtics. Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett each scored 18 points.
“I’m just being aggressive, getting to my spots,” Pierce told ESPN.
Ray Allen broke into double-digit scoring with 12 points but maintained his 3-point scoring drought since setting an NBA finals 3-point shooting record in Game 3.
The Lakers saw a magnificent performance from superstar Kobe Bryant who scored 38 points in 44 minutes of playing time.
But Bryant had little offensive support from the other Lakers; only Pau Gasol broke double-digit scoring with 12 points.
The Celtics opened the game with an impressive offensive performance shooting 66 percent from the field while the Lakers struggled with 33 percent shooting.
Despite the differential, the Lakers were able to hang within a few baskets for much of the half because of their foul shots and Boston’s 10 turnovers. The half closed 45–39 to the Celtics.
Bryant was nothing short of spectacular in the third quarter, scoring all of L.A.’s 19 points in the first 10 minutes of the quarter until Glen Davis got a goaltending call against Gasol.
To put that performance in perspective, Bryant only had 10 points in the entire first half and was only four points short of the record for the most points scored in an NBA finals quarter, set by Isiah Thomas in 1988.
But the Celtics were right there to answer Bryant’s onslaught, opening and maintaining an 11-point lead for much of the quarter as they continued their 66 percent field goal shooting. Pierce had 11 of Boston’s 28 points in the quarter.
“We just kept playing. We’ve just got to maintain our composure and finish our quarters,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said.
Good transition play was the key to Boston’s success but they continued to struggle in rebounding and turnovers into the fourth quarter.
The Celtics were up by 12 points with three minutes to go in the game but things got dicey down the stretch with the Lakers pulling within five points in the final minute.
A tough call on a 24 second violation went Boston’s way. The momentum shifted back to the Celtics, with a great out of bounds save/pass from Pierce to a sprinting Rondo who pulled off a tough reverse layup to seal the Celtics victory.
The Lakers were forced to foul from that point on and Boston knocked in their foul shots to end the game.
Boston now leads the series 3–2 and heads back to L.A. for a possible Game 6 closeout on Tuesday.
Paul Pierce finally got into his champion groove in this series scoring 27 points to lead the Celtics. Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett each scored 18 points.
“I’m just being aggressive, getting to my spots,” Pierce told ESPN.
Ray Allen broke into double-digit scoring with 12 points but maintained his 3-point scoring drought since setting an NBA finals 3-point shooting record in Game 3.
The Lakers saw a magnificent performance from superstar Kobe Bryant who scored 38 points in 44 minutes of playing time.
But Bryant had little offensive support from the other Lakers; only Pau Gasol broke double-digit scoring with 12 points.
The Celtics opened the game with an impressive offensive performance shooting 66 percent from the field while the Lakers struggled with 33 percent shooting.
Despite the differential, the Lakers were able to hang within a few baskets for much of the half because of their foul shots and Boston’s 10 turnovers. The half closed 45–39 to the Celtics.
Bryant was nothing short of spectacular in the third quarter, scoring all of L.A.’s 19 points in the first 10 minutes of the quarter until Glen Davis got a goaltending call against Gasol.
To put that performance in perspective, Bryant only had 10 points in the entire first half and was only four points short of the record for the most points scored in an NBA finals quarter, set by Isiah Thomas in 1988.
But the Celtics were right there to answer Bryant’s onslaught, opening and maintaining an 11-point lead for much of the quarter as they continued their 66 percent field goal shooting. Pierce had 11 of Boston’s 28 points in the quarter.
“We just kept playing. We’ve just got to maintain our composure and finish our quarters,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said.
Good transition play was the key to Boston’s success but they continued to struggle in rebounding and turnovers into the fourth quarter.
The Celtics were up by 12 points with three minutes to go in the game but things got dicey down the stretch with the Lakers pulling within five points in the final minute.
A tough call on a 24 second violation went Boston’s way. The momentum shifted back to the Celtics, with a great out of bounds save/pass from Pierce to a sprinting Rondo who pulled off a tough reverse layup to seal the Celtics victory.
The Lakers were forced to foul from that point on and Boston knocked in their foul shots to end the game.
