You knew the Lakers were going to come out and play Sunday in NBA Finals Game 5 with there hopes of a NBA championship on the line.  They forced a NBA Finals Game 6 back in Boston in Tuesday night with a 103-98 win.  The Celtics didn't "choke" this one away.  They had an opportunity to be the NBA championship pick, but the Lakers flat out won the game.  What Game 5 of the 2008 NBA Finals will be remembered for is Kobe Bryant's steal and dunk to seal a tight ball game in the fourth quarter.  Kobe disappears after the 1st quarter but makes a key defensive play at the end, shall we call that lucky? (and also a questionable foul on Pierce?).  Bryant scored 25 points, and Odom added 20.   The oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com set the NBA Finals betting odds for the Boston -3.5 to LA Lakers for your NBA Finals picks on Game 6. 

Can't complain about the effort Paul Pierce gave Sunday.  Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 38 points and played all but two seconds.  "We wanted to go back home, but we didn't want to play," coach Doc Rivers said. "But now we have to play, and we earned that right. That's why the regular season is so important.  We fought for it all year. We have Game 6 at home, and that's not a bad place to be." Kevin Garnett had 13 points and 14 rebounds.  KG missing free throws and a point blank tip-in late as well as committing a lot of dumb fouls early is the reason for the loss though the poor start didn't help.  Just like they did in Game 4, the Celtics made a huge come back in 4th quarter but came up short this time.  Sam Cassell had a great spell there in the fourth quarter.  The C's were down 14 with 9 minutes to play.  Then Cassell came in and lit the torch going on a personal 7-0 run and spearheaed a 12-2 Celtics run and helped the Celtics tie the game with just under 5 minutes to play. 

In NBA Finals Game 5 KG was really a non factor in the biggest game of his career.  He must play his best game in Game 6 on Tuesday night as they try to take the title.  I don't know why the Lakers are having such difficulty holding on to huge leads against Boston at home... they'll lose one of the next two, they can't hold a lead at home, I don't expect much better on the road.  The Celtics, trying to win their first title since 1986, are consoled by the fact they are going home.  They are 47-7 at TD Banknorth Garden this season.  Like Kobe said, this series isn't over.  While it wasn't a convincing win, people need not forget that every game in this series has been under a 5 point lead with under 3 minutes to go, so there really hasn't been any dominating wins and they have all been close games.  The Lakers have won an away game in every series so far, so if they take Game 6 and then go to a Game 7, anything can happen. 

Trends For This NBA Finals Picks Matchup-  Under is 8-2 in LAL last 10 overall.  LAL are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 Tue. games.  LAL are 21-9-1 ATS in their last 31 road games.  BOS are 14-5 ATS in their last 19 home games.  BOS are 12-5 ATS in their last 17 Tue. games.

View NBA Finals picks and betting Odds at OnlineSportsHandicapping.com before you bet on NBA Finals Basketball at Sportsbook.com

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