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The Boston Celtics rallied from a 24-point deficit and beat the Los Angeles Lakers 97-91 on Thursday night in Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in this history-rich best-of-seven series, moving to within one victory of a 17th championship. Things looked bad for the Celtics in the early goings, but Boston dug deep for an amazing rally despite being down 35-14 after the first frame. No team had ever overcome more than a 15-point deficit after the first quarter to win, it was the largest comeback in the finals since 1971. One thing’s for sure, it will forever be remembered in the annals of Celtics-Lakers lore. The Big Three - Paul Pierce scored 20 points, Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Ray Allen had 19 points. Kobe Bryant scored 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting but the league’s MVP couldn’t rescue the Lakers when they needed him most. Lamar Odom had 19 points— 15 in the first half—and Pau Gasol, whose addition in a midseason trade was supposed to give the Lakers their final piece to complement Bryant, had 17 points and 10 rebounds. The win was costly to the Celtics. Boston's starters Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo were both unable to finish the game, and Paul Pierce also injured, the Celtics will be relying on their bench when they try to win the NBA championship against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 on Sunday night. Pierce's playing status, and skepticism about the severity of his injury, have been the dominant topics of conversation in the renewed rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics, who are meeting in the finals for the first time since 1987. Moments after he was lifted from the floor by teammates and placed in a wheelchair, Pierce jogged back out of the tunnel to a thundering ovation and quickly made consecutive 3-pointers as the Celtics took control and went on to win. Perkins left the game on Thursday night, clutching his left shoulder after slamming into Lakers forward Odom early in the third quarter. Celtics' coach Doc Rivers said on Friday that Perkins has a 50-50 chance “at best” of playing in Game 5 on Sunday night. Rondo started, but played only 17 minutes before going to the bench for good with 7:06 left in the third quarter. Rondo's status is listed as questionable for Sunday's game. MVP Bryant went just 9-for-26 in Game 1 and has only made 33 percent (24-of-72) of his attempts in three games - all losses - against the Celtics this season. Except for Bryant's 36-point performance in Game 3, he has been an ordinary player in his try for a fourth championship ring. It's hard to imagine the reigning MVP having another bad game, being fueled by fans wearing purple and gold on Sunday. A day after the Lakers’ major collapse in Game 4, coach Phil Jackson canceled practice. Jackson said he sent the players home after a brief get-together that included watching some of Thursday night’s debacle against the Celtics. It took an colossal comeback to do it, and now the Celtics can reclaim their place atop pro basketball with a win in Game 5 on Sunday night in Los Angeles. But to do so, the bench must come up big as they've done throughout the finals. In all, the Celtics’ bench has outscored the Lakers’ 108-82 in the series and held a 48-35 rebounding edge. If the Lakers win Sunday, the series shifts back to Boston for Game 6 on Tuesday. Game Seven would be played on Thursday, also in Boston. Key to victory to forcing a game on Tuesday, the Lakers has to find a way to stop Garnett. This is one of, if not thee biggest, factors of this matchup. As well, ''if'' Pierce is indeed injured as reported, the Lakers need to stay in his face all night. Odom was 6-for-6 in the opening period and 7-for-7 at halftime in Game 4 when the Lakers still held a 58-40 lead and was dominating virtually every statistical category (outshooting Boston 50 to 35 percent, outrebounding the Celtics 26-16, out-assisting them 15-4 and holding a 14-1 edge in second-chance points. With Bryant not playing up to his expectations, a big game from Odom could send play back to Bean Town. For Boston to win its pretty simple: The Big Three need to play like they have all year. And, the bench must continue to be productive. If this combination of things take place, it will be good night Lakers. Did you know? The Celtics and Lakers finished with the best records in their respective conferences. It’s the first time teams with the top marks have met in the finals since Indiana and Los Angeles in 2000. |
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