Asked if the Celtics let one slip away, Rivers said, "Either that or they should have blown us out."
Celtics guard Ray Allen, who had 25 points (five 3-pointers), said, "We definitely had opportunities."
Following a 108-102 Game 2 loss in Boston, Jackson complained loudly about Boston getting more attempts from the free throw line, 38-10. On this night, the Lakers had 34 attempts from the line to the Celtics' 22, (including 18 by Kobe Bryant).
Rivers had no excuse for the loss - and had some words for Jackson in the process.
When told that Jackson said Kevin Garnett looked tired in the fourth quarter, Rivers said, "I'm just surprised he didn't whine about fouls tonight. I don't know if Kevin was tired or not. Bottom line is, we just didn't play well as a group, and it wasn't just Kevin.
"I told our guys, 'Listen, you guys had a chance to win but don't be delusional. That team attacked you, they were the aggressor.' That's why they went to the foul line, and they deserved it.
"I told them I don't want to hear about Coach Jackson complaining and that's why - no, that's not why. They played harder, they drove to the basket, and they deserved to go to the foul line."
Allen's fellow All-Stars, Paul Pierce and Garnett, struggled offensively.
Pierce, who had averaged 27.9 points and shot 46.8 percent in nine career road games against the Lakers, missed 12 of his 14 field goal attempts and finished with 6 points. Jackson credited Bryant for his defense on Pierce.
"He is a tough scorer," said Bryant. "I just tried to accept the challenge and make it tough for him."
Garnett, who was averaging 21.2 points in the postseason, missed 15 of 21 shots en route to 13 points.
"It's not a perfect game," said Garnett. "Sometimes we make it look easy. But that's the great thing about this game, we have more games to play."
Said Jackson: "Kevin kind of just ran out of gas. It looked like he was gassed sometime in the fourth quarter. Putting Kobe on Pierce was the difference in tonight's game. It was more difficult for him to get free. He still had some instrumental plays down the stretch, but it made the difference for us tonight."
