No Doc in This House—LA Lakers Survive Surgery 103-98

Things didn't start off too well for Doc Rivers and the Celtics, as they fell fast behind Kobe Bryant's treys. Tripping over their own feet as they watched the Lakers transition game eat them up, they looked nervous despite being up 3-1. The Celtics had set out to do it the hard way again.

Trailing by 17 points after the first quarter, Doc Rivers apparently told his players to settle down, make some stops, pick up some confidence, and start taking it to the hole.

Foul troubles and mishaps by both teams led to substitution patterns where Doc prescribed an easier-to-pronounce medicine than Phil Jackson. Allen, Posey, House, and Brown proved to be a better dosage than Phil's tongue twister brands of Vujacic, Mihm, Farmar, and Turiaf. The Celtics erased all but a handful of the Lakers' lead by halftime. Dead even by Boston standards. 

The Celtics were making some stops alright, and guys like Tony Allen were parting the Lakers defense with Moses imitations. However, the Lakers didn't look scared or defeated as they trotted off to the locker room. They looked like they were learning a lesson...again. The second half was to be, perhaps, the final exam.

Doc's big medicine, Kevin Garnet, having sat out much of the second period, but teamed up with PJ Brown for a bigger front line at the start of the third in an attempt to neutralize Gasol and Odom better. Rondo capitalized some in the open, but Garnet was still picking up fouls in the fray (courtesy of Pau Gasol soccer flops). Pierce was solid at both ends of the floor.

With Kobe picking up fouls and forcing shots, Derek Fisher got the LA crowd going with a 3-point play. A steal and a wake up 3-pointer by Radmanovic capped an 11-2 run before Doc called for triage with less than five minutes to go in the third.

Unforced turnovers and poor shot selection by the Celtics, and some overdue intensity by the Lakers, caused Gasol to lift the LA lead over Boston to nine.

The lead increased to 12 in what seemed like a blink into the fourth.

As Gasol and Farmar elevated their game, the Boston deficit was starting to feel heavier.

Thirty-eight-year-old Sam Cassell added seven quick points, trying to take the pain away while his younger teammates took a breather. Solid defense by Pierce and a 3-pointer by Posey got the Celtics within four points. They were kind of even with a little over to five minutes to play.

The battle between Gasol and KG was real. The battle between Kobe and Pierce was, well, not much. The refs, however, were looking like they were to get in the limelight at three minutes to go. Garnett missed two free throws, and next thing you knew, Kobe was on the line netting two. And then Pierce netted two.

Finally, a Lakers' steal sent Kobe down the court for a thunderously definitive "we are not quitting " dunk, giving them a four-point lead with 37 seconds to go. More free throws and the Lakers lead grew to six with 16 seconds left. The Celtics huddled at Doc's bench office. An unreal 3-pointer after the time out by Eddie House gave a ray of hope at around nine seconds to go, but ensuing Lakers' free throws and a steal put this one in LA's win column 103-98.

The Celtics will be glad to get back under the lights of their operating theatre. The Lakers are trying their best not to be such a good patient.