SPORTS: Lakers Force the Celtics Back to Boston for Game Six

Updated: June 16, 2008

Pack up the championship trophy and book a flight back to Boston, the NBA finals aren't over yet. The Los Angeles Lakers are headed East to try a historic comeback of their own.

Kobe Bryant scored 25 points, including a decisive dunk in the final minute --and Lamar Odom added 20 as the Lakers, playing with pride on their star-studded stage, prevented the Celtics from winning a 17th title with a 103-98 win in Game 5 on Sunday night to close to 3-2 in this restored rivalry.

No team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in the finals to win a title. The first 28 failed, and now the Lakers, who blew a 24-point lead and lost Game 4 and nearly squandered a 19-point lead in Game 5, have a chance to do something extraordinary.

They'll have to win on the Celtics' parquet floor Tuesday night to force a winner-take-all Game 7, where anything is possible.

Especially with Bryant, the game's best player, on hand.

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