Celtics-Lakers Game 5

What a game. What a freakin' game.

This one had it all. End-to-end excitement. A Kobe-Pierce offensive duel that, for a stretch in the 3rd quarter, overshadowed the rest of the game. Hard-nosed defense. Stretches of ugly, sloppy play -- which has been an all-too-common theme in this year's playoffs. But whatever, I'll look on the bright side and say that both teams played a tough, gritty game and laid it all out on the line. Celtics were just a little better (even though they had one of their patented 4th-quarter semi-collapses where it looked like they were trying to give the game to the Lakers -- including Kevin Garnett losing a jump-ball to Derek Fisher. Really, Garnett? And Phil Jackson had no qualms about voicing his thoughts on the Celtics' tendency to blow leads during a timeout when he was Mic'ed up and essentially said for the country to hear that the Celts were the league's best chokers. Gotta love Phil. You know that will be major bulletin board material for Boston as they prepare for Game 6).

One other thing I'd like to note is that while Kobe completely went off in the 3rd quarter, scoring 19 of his team's 26 points in the period, the Celtics were still able to extend the lead (they stretched a six-point halftime advantage to as much as 13 before settling for an eight-point cushion at the end of the quarter). More evidence for the "team is more effective than an individual" argument. Look, there's no denying the Black Mamba's a ridiculously talented basketball player who can do things with a basketball that almost nobody else on the planet can. But while Kobe was schooling defenders and hitting a bunch of seemingly-impossible fadeaways, the rest of his team was stagnant, having gone into "stand around and watch Kobe" mode. And that hurt the Lakers, as all the guys in purple not named Kobe were largely ineffective both in the quarter (7 points on 3-for-10 shooting and only two players scoring) and on the night (Fisher/Artest -- 4 of 18 from the field combined; Bynum played 32 minutes but attempted just six shots; Gasol looked out of sync and missed a number of jumpers he normally buries).

Boston, on the other hand, played their typical team style, dishing the rock and getting everyone involved. The "Big Four", in fact, all had big games on offense: Pierce led the way with 27 points, followed by Rondo and Garnett with 18 apiece, and Ray Allen with 12.

Extremely telling stat for the third quarter: Kobe -- 7-of-9 shooting, 19 points; Celtics -- 12-of-19 shooting, 28 points, 5 contributors to the scoring load. Celtics > Kobe.

Extremely telling stat for the game: number of assists for Boston -- 21; number of assists for LA -- 12. When you play together, it boosts team morale and gets everyone to play harder and more effectively. The Celtics were an embodiment of that concept tonight.

The Lakers, on the other hand, are moving in the opposite direction; Kobe has now attempted twice as many shots (120 FGA) in this series as any of his other teammates (Gasol is second with 60 FGA).

Now the series shifts back to LA. Will Boston take one of two on the road to wrap up the franchise's 18th title? If they keep playing Celtics basketball, I think the answer's yes.