In a game that will be remembered — not just in the Boston area — for a long, long time, the Celtics overcame a 24-point first-half Lakers lead through ridiculous shutdown defense and won Game 5 of the NBA Finals 97-91. They now have a 3-1 series lead. And Kobe Bryant is surely coming up with all kinds of new bleeps.
Kobe has a lot of blame to put on himself; he was 6-of-20 from the field and generally looked grouchy that the game didn't end after the first quarter. The real star was Ray Allen, who played every minute and scored two huge fourth-quarter baskets, including a blow-by of Sasha Vujacic, who is currently a smoldering pile of ash on the Staples Center floor.
The Celtics are now one game away from an NBA championship, with three chances, two at home. Another reason to be happy about the Super Bowl last February? We were one David Tyree drop from having the city of Boston holding all three major pro sports titles. It's beginning to look that way, folks.