Welcome back, Antoine

When Paul Pierce (29 points) spun away from an enclosing double team and banked in a 5-footer with 46.1 seconds remaining, the Celtics could sense victory , and the shot would prove to be the eventual game-winner. But after a pair of missed free throws by Ricky Davis (29 points), Boston had to wait until Kobe Bryant (26 points) missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to exhale with a 104-101 win.

The Celtics have yet to lose since reacquiring Walker at the trade deadline. Last night's victory was the team's third straight since Walker's return.

"Antoine has definitely given us a spark since he has been here," said Pierce. "We are just trying to keep it going. We felt like with the addition of Antoine, there has been a lot of pressure taken off not only me, but the rest of the guys on the team. The guys are excited about it. He is an unselfish player. He finds the open man, and he makes our jobs easy."

Unlike the first meeting of the season with the Lakers nine days ago without Walker, the Celtics stayed relatively composed in the fourth quarter. They made sure this game would not get away from them because of a lack of effort or intensity. The Celtics outhustled the Lakers in the fourth quarter and were barely rattled by a scoring burst from former teammates.

Former Celtics Jumaine Jones, Chucky Atkins, and Chris Mihm helped the Lakers gain a slight advantage at the end of the third and stay close throughout the fourth. Boston lost its halftime lead and trailed, 79-77, entering the last quarter. Los Angeles staged a 10-3 run at the end of the third, capped by a 3-pointer from Jones.

With the game tied, 83-83, a little more than two minutes into the fourth , the Celtics pieced together a 9-2 spurt and went ahead, 92-85. But that was before Atkins went on a 7-0 run by himself with Bryant essentially locked down by Davis. The spurt tied the contest, 92-92, with 4:16 remaining. Atkins (29 points) added an 18-footer to produce another tie, then Mihm did the same with a one-handed tip-in.