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Celtics seek 17th

Forward Pau Gasol, center, had a double-double on Sunday to help the Lakers extend the NBA championship series. Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Tom Withers Associated Press
Forward Pau Gasol, center, had a double-double on Sunday to help the Lakers extend the NBA championship series. Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

The Boston Celtics are home, not home free.

Unable to put the finishing touches on the Los Angeles Lakers and wrap up their first championship since 1986, the NBA’s best team since November flew back across three time zones Monday for a Game 6 they were hoping they wouldn’t have to play.

But injuries, another big first-half deficit and a sub-par performance by center Kevin Garnett cost the banged-up Celtics, who lost 103-98 on Sunday in Game 5 at Los Angeles.

“Not what we wanted,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said of the team’s stay in Southern California. “We wanted two more (wins). Obviously, the blanket was that we get to go home, but we really believed that we could win one of these games. We won one and we’ll take it, but that’s obviously not what we want.”

Despite the loss, the tradition-drenched Celtics feel good about their chances of winning a 17th title – on the 17th.

“We’re one up, with two games to go at home,” said Paul Pierce, who scored 38 in Game 5. “It still feels like we have the advantage, and I do feel like we’re the better team.”

So the 11th installment of Celtics vs. Lakers, the league’s signature rivalry and one of the best in pro sports, has at least one more 48-minute episode.

After a 21-year gap between finals meetings, these teams aren’t quite ready to part company.

Why would they?

Now five games old, this series has had plenty of drama (Pierce’s return from a Game 1 knee injury), history (Boston’s finals record 24-point comeback in Game 4), surprises (Leon Powe’s emergence as a Game 2 star) and even a little scandal as former referee Tim Donaghy’s allegations of fixed playoff games has hung over the finals like a layer of L.A. smog.

The Lakers are trying to become the first team in finals history to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a title, and they’re one step closer. If they can win Game 6 tonight in Boston, they’ll force a decisive Game 7.