The Celtics overcame a 24-point deficit en route to a stunning 97-91 victory over the Lakers in Game 4 last night at Staples Center.
Boston owns a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with Game 5 here Sunday. The Celtics can win their first title since 1986 with one more victory.
"I'm happy about the win," said Paul Pierce, who scored a team-high 20 points. "But after that, Sam, Pose, you know those guys that have won championships, they said, 'Hey, close-out games are the hardest games. If you thought this game was hard . . .'
"So, hey, I don't want to get overjoyed. I want to go out there and try to win Game 5 on Father's Day and then I'll be able to breathe. Right now, I'm waiting to exhale."
Play-by-plays were incomplete before 1971, according to the NBA, but the Elias Sports Bureau said the Celtics' comeback is the greatest since 1971.
"Well, it's a good position to be in," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "But you have to win one game four times. We've only done it three times as far as I'm concerned. But we still have to win one game and that's the way we view it. As far as the comeback, it was a great comeback. But you don't get anything for it."
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who had 17 points and 10 assists, said: "It's a huge disappointment, no doubt about it."
The Celtics have not lost three games in a row since February.
The Lakers lost for the first time at home during the postseason, and lost for the first time at home since March 28 against Memphis.
"Our back was against the wall, but it's just a game at a time, and that's one thing we have to understand," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We have to keep forcing the action because anything can happen in these situations. You just got to keep playing through it and find a way to keep succeeding as you go along. We lost that in the third quarter and left that energy out there on the floor."
Los Angeles finished its dominating first quarter with a 21-point lead, 35-14. Sasha Vujacic's 3-pointer with 6:45 left in the second quarter pushed the lead to 24, 45-21. Although the Celtics were able to trim the deficit to 12, they finished the first half trailing, 58-40.
