The Basketball Diaries

Los Angeles Lakers 87 Boston Celtics 81 (Celtics lead series 2-1)

Kobe Bryant reminded us why he is the MVP on Tuesday night, as he kept the Lakers championship hopes alive by getting the Lakers on the board for the first time this series. On a night where basically everybody in a Lakers jersey forgot to show up, Kobe took it all upon his own shoulders and held off the Celtics.

Kobe finished with 36 points and 7 rebounds, and unlike the first two games in Boston, spent his night attacking the basket instead of settling for jump shots most of the night. He only had one assist, but it wasn't because he was hogging the ball as much as it was his teammates sucked. Aside from Sasha Vujacic, who finished with 20 points and hit some big shots late, Kobe didn't get much help from anyone else. The other four Lakers starters combined for a total of 22 points between them.

"What I tried to do with my teammates is just stay calm," he said. "It wasn't the end of the world. They did a great job of defending home court. We knew we had to come here and do the same. They feed off of my confidence and I have all the confidence in the world that we can come here and win."

Ray Allen led the Celtics with 25 points, and much like Kobe, he didn't get much from his teammates either. Kevin Garnett had 12 boards, but only scored 13 points, and Paul Pierce could only manage 6 points. Together, KG and Pierce shot 8-for-35 from the field, yet somehow the Celtics were within two points late in the game. On the road.

That's not a good sign for the Lakers.