Lakers Steal Game 5, Jack Talks Trash

by julianw | June 16, 2008 at 01:59 pm | 123 views | add comment

I tuned in and out of the game, but was lucky to catch a hilarious moment when Jack Nicholson started trash-talking Celtics coach Doc Rivers. The basketball was good too.

Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol pulled disappearing acts after halftime in the first four games of the NBA finals, deferring to Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

The Los Angeles big men stood tall when Bryant struggled offensively after the first quarter in Game 5, and with that, the Lakers are going back to Boston.

Odom had 20 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, Gasol added 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, and the Lakers beat the Celtics 103-98 Sunday night to trim Boston's lead to 3-2.

Game 6 will be played Tuesday night. Should the Lakers win, a seventh and deciding game will be Thursday night.

Odom, who had four points and two rebounds in the second half of the disastrous Game 4, had nine points and four rebounds after halftime of this game.

Gasol had 10 points and six rebounds in the second half, and made the go-ahead basket with 4:12 remaining. Odom added a pair of foul shots less than a minute later, but he wasn't finished.

With the Lakers leading 97-95, Bryant poked the ball away from Paul Pierce, Odom got it and fed Bryant for a breakaway dunk that gave Los Angeles a four-point lead with 37.4 seconds left.

On Boston's next possession, Odom rebounded a missed follow shot by Kevin Garnett, and the Lakers were home free.

"They both did a good job on the boards," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.