The first time, Pierce missed an open Ray Allen to the left, discontinued his dribble, and was lost in no man’s land, passing to Mickael Pietrus for a desperation heave. In overtime, with the Celtics down 1, Pierce hesitantly dribbled to the right, found a slice of open space, and fired a 17-footer.
The confidence wasn’t there and the ball curled around the rim and out. And to punctuate the result, Gasol swatted Allen’s put-back from 7 feet, handing the Celtics an 88-87 loss in perhaps their final relevant TD Garden matchup for a while.
The Celtics’ lack of an effective interior player was apparent. Gasol and Bynum combined for 41 points, 31 rebounds, and 5 blocks, and Bynum scored the winning basket on a tip-in with 1:29 left in OT. Kevin Garnett missed two jump shots that could have put the Celtics ahead, and Boston’s defense denied a potential insurance hoop by Kobe Bryant with seven seconds left, setting up the final possession.
“I thought our execution the whole game was terrible,’’ said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “I thought this was an awful game, except for they won. If we had won it, it would have been an awful game that we had won. That’s how I felt. So, just thought our execution was off all night. You know, give them credit, some of it was defense. I thought a lot of it was self-inflicted. We’ve been very good at just running the floor, ball movement, second and third options, second and third picks. Today, the ball just was not … it was no fun to watch.’’
The Lakers have struggled defensively in stretches this season, but used Bynum and Gasol to push the Celtics to the perimeter. Most everything they attempted was a jumper. Garnett took 23 shots, his most since Feb. 8, 2009, and converted just six. He did not make a layup or dunk after the first half.
The Celtics shot just 34.6 percent after halftime and wasted several chances to build leads, especially in the third quarter. And they attempted just five free throws, none after the half, a testament to their tentativeness in the paint.
Pierce, two nights after becoming the team’s No. 2 all-time scorer, missed 11 of 18 shots, most of them jumpers.
