In the pivotal Game 5 of the 2010 NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics gave us a little math lesson.

Four is greater than one.

Many would argue that Rondo has become the most valuable Boston Celtic on the current team.

Celtics’ Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen combined to outplay Lakers’ star Kobe Bryant as Boston defeated the visiting Los Angeles Lakers, 92-86, giving them a 3-2 series lead.

Boston got out to a good start shooting the ball from the field.  In a closely contested first half, the Celtics outshot the Lakers 66% to 33% from the floor.  Paul Pierce was magnificent, shooting 7-10 and putting up 19 in the opening 24 minutes.  Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett were also effective contributors.  With such a notable discrepancy, what kept Los Angeles in the game?

In a word – turnovers.  The home team committed 11 first half miscues, and L.A. converted them into 11 points on the offensive end.  The Lakers also attacked the offensive glass, with Pau Gasol securing some valuable second chances for the purple and gold.

Kobe Bryant (38 points) put on a miraculous show in the third quarter.  Three-pointers.  Fade-aways.  One-handed alley oops.  He threw everything but the kitchen sink.  And it went in.  After struggling early in the game, Bryant scored 19 points in the period (the first nineteen of the period for L.A.) and accounted for 23 consecutive points for his team at one time in the quarter.  But for all of his effort, the end result was that the Celtics increased their lead to eight points at the end of the third.

Everyone got into the act for Boston.  Pierce (27 points in Game 5) remained killer from mid-range.  Garnett (18 points, 10 rebounds) made a couple of forceful baskets.  Allen hit a couple of field goals, too.  While Los Angeles was once again riding the talents of Bryant, the Celtics were getting ball movement and involvement from virtually all of their key players.

In the final period, the Lakers opened by going to Gasol (someone other than Bryant).  They were able to get the deficit to six points, but it wouldn’t stay there for long.  Behind more team play on both ends of the court, the Celtics were able to push their advantage back out to double figures.  Undeterred, Los Angeles continued to fight back. 

Key play down the stretch:  Down by five with 46 seconds to go, veteran guard Derek Fisher won a jump ball against Garnett.  The ball was tapped up to Ron Artest on a breakaway – and he was fouled by Pierce.  Artest badly missed both free throws and Boston secured the rebound.  The Celtics called for a timeout in the backcourt.  On the ensuing inbound, Garnett tossed a jump ball to Pierce – who caught it, turned and whipped it to a cutting Rondo (18 points, 8 assists) for a layup with 28 seconds remaining in regulation.

Although Los Angeles is more well-rounded and a much tougher team than they were two years ago, this series is beginning to take the flavor of the 2008 Finals.  The Celtics are getting a more greater level of team inclusion than the Lakers – several Boston players were taking turns making plays tonight.  Los Angeles desperately needs to orchestrate a way to get all of their important contributors into a rhythm.  Bryant can get his anytime.  Gasol, Odom, and Artest cannot.

Now that the Lakers are trailing in the series, will Bryant allow someone else to shoot the basketball?

Lakers head coach Phil Jackson was mic’ed and commented to his team that:

“This (the Boston Celtics) is a team that knows how to lose games in the fourth quarter.  They led the league this year in games lost in the fourth quarter.”

But Jackson needs to know how to coach his team to win this type of tough contest.  Against a defense like Boston’s, you cannot rely on one player to win.  Ask Dwayne Wade.  Ask LeBron James.  Ask Dwight Howard.  They are all league icons who have stepped up and taken a seat in this year’s postseason.  If Jackson doesn’t tighten the reigns on Bryant early in the game and get others involved, L.A. could see their hopes of back-to-back championships diminish on Tuesday at the Staples Center.

Garnett played with fire again tonight.  Pierce played like the unheralded leader that he is.

But can enough be said about Rondo?

Comparatively speaking, he can’t shoot – anything beyond the free throw line is a challenge.  But has there been a player as good as he has been with such a well-documented handicap.  One could argue that Shaquille O’Neal would fit that bill, but he’s well over seven foot (in height and width) – so he’s just too hard to stop from a physical standpoint.  Everyone knows Rondo’s weakness, however, in each game he overcomes it in a bigger and better way.

In 2008, Kobe was outplayed by three Celtics.  Bryant worked hard, and is perhaps a better player than he was two years ago. 

But unfortunately in 2010, Jackson is counting on him to outplay four Celtics. 

Tonight, he couldn’t do it.

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