That big clincher was with 40 seconds left and the Lakers hanging on 95-93. It appeared Pierce had beaten Bryant after the screen from Garnett, but Bryant poked the ball away and ran out for a slam dunk and 99-95 lead.

"He made a great defensive play," said Pierce. "He reached around and tapped the ball from behind, and it was just a great defensive play. That was pretty much all he could do that Kevin set the pick, so he was struggling. Kobe is a great player. He made two big steals on myself there in the fourth quarter that I shouldn't have allowed. It definitely hurts, tough one to swallow, and we'll just try to get the next one at home. I thought it was great defense. That's all it was, it was good defense. I wouldn't ask the refs for a call down the stretch. You let the players decide the game, and I thought that's what happened."

It was a classy response from Pierce, who has been the best player in this series after being doubted in the NBA for many years. His relentless driving kept the Celtics alive as Garnett was mistake prone down the stretch and sitting out early with fouls, and Ray Allen was controlled.

"My play tonight?" said Garnett. "It was trash. I played like garbage tonight. I can do better and I will."

Once again, Posey hit a big three to pull the Celtics within four with just under six minutes left after the Lakers had led by 14 earlier in the fourth quarter. But Garnett missed one of two free throws with the Celtics down two with 3:54 left and then both free throws with the Celtics down two with 2:31 left. In between that, Bryant knocked the ball loose from Pierce with 3:09 left and the Lakers ahead by three, and it led to a Fisher free throw.

A late House three wasn't enough as the Lakers clinched it with free throws after Bryant's second steal.

"Give them credit," said Rivers. "I thought they made plays. They made tougher plays down the stretch. We had a couple of balls right at the basket in our hands. They took them out of our hands. They blocked our shots. We had great shots. We missed some lay ups, missed some free throws. That's the way it goes."

And so it goes back to Boston, just like it did in 1986, the last time the Celtics won a championship. That was over Houston when you just had the feeling the Celtics were dominating as they opened at home 2-0, won one of three in Houston and then went home for Game 6 to wrap it up.

"We wanted to go back home, but we didn't want to play," said Rivers. "You know what I mean? But now we have to go play, and we earned that right. That's why the regular season is so important. We fought for it all year. We have Game 6 at home, and that's not a bad place to be."

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