Odom, Gasol, and the Lakers fight on to force game 6 back in Boston

The Los Angeles Lakers were led by the physical play of Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. Yes, the more physical play by Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol fended off another late comeback by the Celtics to force Game Six back in Boston.

The Celtics were hindered by the absence of Kendrick Perkins and the foul trouble of Kevin Garnett. Perkins' injury may be more significant than Celtics fans might be willing to admit.

Garnett wasn't free to roam the paint as Gasol and Odom fed off of each other en route to a 20 and 11 night for Lamar and a 19 and 13 night for the Spaniard.

Kobe set the tone with four first quarter 3's as the Lakers raced out to a 17 point first quarter lead.

The Celtics easily chipped away behind a strong MVP of the Finals-like performance by Paul Pierce. Pierce poured in 38 points, as no one could stop his penetration but Kobe Bryant, until he became plagued with four fouls.

Through careful re-analysis of last night's Game Five, it seems Lamar Odom, with his tall, lanky frame, may have given Pierce the most trouble.

When asked about it, Phil Jackson admitted, "We couldn't stop him." Pierce blew by Trevor Ariza, Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Derek Fisher and Vladimir Radmanovich.

Still, the Lakers were able to stop him when it mattered most. With about three minutes left, Kobe Bryant proved why he is the MVP of the league and a first-team defender. He slapped the ball right out of Pierce's hand that led to a break away and a free throw for Fisher.

With about 40 seconds left in the game, Bryant poked the ball away from Pierce and it ended up in Lamar Odom's hands who flipped it up court to Bryant who finished with a two handed exclamation point to the game.

"I noticed that the ball was exposed just a little bit," Bryant said.

"He reached around and tapped the ball from behind," said Pierce, "It was a great defensive play."

So the Lakers survived for at least one more game. They were able to hold the off the Celtics from celebrating at Staples. They won a game that featured no Perkins and an ineffective Garnett.

They put Garnett on the line with a chance to tie the game by a silly foul by Gasol, and Garnett (a usually good clutch free thrower) clanked both.

They had a big lead and blew it again. Kobe came out strong and faded again. Maybe Laker fans are kidding themselves, thinking they can pull off an impossible feat.

Lakers fans look on the bright side:

The Lakers still haven't played a true Laker game.

The Lakers could have easily won all three home games if not for a monumental second half collapse in Game Four.

The Lakers could have easily won Game Two if the free throw margin would not have been so wide (not complaining or arguing but 38-10?).

Every playoff series the Lakers have won at least one road game.

AND Kobe Bryant has yet to be Kobe Bryant.

There is no defense on the planet who can stop Kobe if he really wants to go off, none. The Lakers played horribly, Kobe said he played bad, and the Lakers won. If Kobe is going to lose, he is going to go down swinging.

At the very least, we will have an incredible show to watch on Tuesday.

"They're going to throw the whole kitchen sink at me," he said of the Celtics' vaunted defense. "Could I force myself to get 40? Yeah. But is that better for your ballclub? No...I think it was important tonight, though, for me to get off to a quick start just so my team could feed off that energy. Once I did that, it was important for me to step back and bring the other guys along as opposed to staying hot or continuing to go with it."

And if that doesn't work in Boston, the MVP needs to play like one or the Lakers and their fans will spend all summer thinking about Game Two.

Win or Go Home. Win and Game Seven is Kobe Time.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?