“Faith…nothing means more to me than helping this team win.”

That was Derek Fisher’s response when asked what inspired him to keep competing throughout such a tough, physical game in which his team had squandered a 17-point lead.

Odom brought the goods tonight, shooting 5-5 from the floor off the bench.

The Lakers certainly had faith in him as his fourth quarter heroics enabled Los Angeles to pull out a key Game 3 victory in Boston, 91-84.

The game saw Los Angeles establish the aforementioned huge lead, only to see it vanish in the final quarter.  And while Kobe Bryant had an inefficient game (more on that later), his team carried the Lakers to a win which reverted home court advantage back in favor of Los Angeles.

Here are my assessments of what went down in Game 3:

 - Ray Allen and Paul Pierce combined to connect on just two field goals through three quarters.  Allen never made a shot in this game.  Although this essentially kept Boston from winning, a fellow named Kobe Bryant allowed Boston to remain in touch with L.A.

 - Even by his standards, Kobe Bryant took several poor shots (particularly in the third quarter) that kept Boston in the game.  Bryant (10-29 FG) seemed so preoccupied with going for the jugular, that he ignored his teammates.  And it was those teammates that came up big in the fourth, when Kobe was uncharacteristically shut down.  The Celtics were absolutely struggling offensively in the third quarter, and it was certainly an opportunity for the Lakers to extend their lead.    They didn’t and, consequently, found themselves in a dog fight for the rest of the night.  Hopefully, Bryant will review tonight’s game tape, eat a little humble pie and realize that L.A. has an insurmountable height advantage that they need to tap into.

 - Is there anyone more willing to take big shots in the fourth quarter than Derek Fisher?  The veteran guard scored eleven points in the final period, including attempts during which he absorbed major amounts of contact.  But Fisher’s tough three-point play with 48 seconds left in the game showed his true colors.  He knew he was going to be hit very hard, but he concentrated to make to tough layup – and then got up to swish the ensuing free throw.  I’ve never really been a Derek Fisher fan, but this play clearly indicated that this guy really is the heart and soul of the Lakers. 

Ray Allen displayed one of the all-time worst performances in NBA Finals history.

 - Boston appears to be incapable of getting at least two of their “Big Three” (Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett) into a sustained offensive rhythm.  Garnett looked like the colck was turned back tonight.  Allen, after a record-setting performance in Game 2, didn’t convert a field goal tonight (0-13, 2 points).  Pierce connected on three triples, but missed just about everything else.  In Boston’s two losses, he has waited too long to force the issue.  Pierce needs to be aggressive early and often – he’s the Celtics’ most versatile offensive player. 

 - How many times has this been said:  When Lamar Odom plays good, the Lakers win.  And it seemingly always holds true, and tonight was no exception.  Odom was 5-5 for 12 points.

 - In an interesting instant replay twist, it was particularly enjoyable to see the offensive rebound play (with 39 seconds left) reviewed.  It clearly showed that the ball went out of bounds off of Lamar Odom’s hand, but also revealed that the officials missed a foul committed by Rajon Rondo…which forced Odom to lose the ball.  The officials could not use the replay to correct the missed foul call, but the could determine that the ball was out off of Odom.  This was indeed a very interesting turn of events that forced the instant replay to reveal a mistake that couldn’t be corrected.

My Game 4 prediction:  Boston adjusts and gets the job done.  The Lakers will stay true to who they are, and not play top-notch basketball two games in a row.