Lakers back in contention

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-12  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

THE Los Angeles Lakers battled back into National Basketball Association title contention by beating the Boston Celtics 87-81 to trim their deficit in the finals to 2-1 on Tuesday.

League MVP Kobe Bryant scored 36 points, had seven rebounds and played superb defense on the Celtics' Paul Pierce to help the Lakers avoid opening the series 0-3 down.

A change of time zones and attitude did wonders for the Lakers, who staggered home from Boston in an 0-2 hole and couldn't afford to fall any further behind in the first best-of-seven matchup between the league's marquee teams since 1987.

No team in NBA playoff history had ever overcome an 0-3 deficit.

"Undoubtedly it's the leadership of Kobe Bryant out there," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "He was aggressive right from the start."

Bryant scored 11 points in the first quarter. The 12-year veteran was on court for a total of 45 minutes and held Pierce to six points in the game.

"What I tried to do with my teammates is just stay calm," said Bryant after the game.

"It wasn't the end of the world. They (the Celtics) did a great job of defending home-court. We knew we had to come in here and do the same."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers thought the 20 points by Lakers' reserve guard Sasha Vujacic were crucial. Vujacic nailed seven of 10 shots, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. "He was huge," Rivers said of the Slovenian. "Kobe was fantastic but I thought Vujacic was the key to the game.

"We're going to have to win a game when Kobe Bryant plays well. We know that. But when that happens we have to shut off the other avenues."

Game 4 is tomorrow at Staples Center, where the Lakers are 9-0 in the playoffs and unbeaten in 15 games since March.

But it took everything they had to keep that streak alive as the Celtics, two wins from their 17th NBA title but only 2-8 on the road this postseason, made the Lakers play a more physical, Eastern Conference-style game and nearly walked away with a win.

Ray Allen scored 25 points - 15 on 3-pointers - for the Celtics, but only one-third of Boston's Big Three showed up. Pierce hit just two of 14 shots while Kevin Garnett, an 11-time All Star, had 13 points.

Bryant scored five points and center Pau Gasol added four during a pivotal 11-2 run midway through the final quarter to give Los Angeles a 77-70 advantage with 4:17 to play.

Boston closed the gap to two points on a seven-foot bank shot by Garnett but a three-pointer by Vujacic and two foul shots by Derek Fisher gave the Lakers a 83-76 lead with 1:33 left.

After shooting 42 and 53 percent from the floor in the opening two games of the series, the Celtics were successful on just 35 percent in Game 3 in Los Angeles.