earning a foul on Ray Allen. With 1:40 left in the game, Bryant made his lone shot of the quarter despite posting 25 points in the first three periods combined. Foul troubles for both Garnett and Pierce hurt the Celtics chances of closing the gap with the Lakers. Pierce made one final layup with five seconds left in the game, but the Lakers edged the Celtics with a 91–84 victory to take a 2–1 lead in the series. Bryant was the leading scorer of the game with 29 points; Garnett's 25 points bested all other Celtics players for Game 3. Derek Fisher scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. Compared to his record eight three-point field goals in Game 2, Ray Allen went a near-record 0–13 in field goals for this game. Game 4 After the first quarter, the Celtics held a 19–16 lead; Paul Pierce scored eight points in the quarter for Boston, while Pau Gasol had eight points for Los Angeles. The Lakers rebounded to take a three-point lead entering halftime. Los Angeles maintained a two-point lead following the third quarter, in which Kobe Bryant made three three-point baskets. Early in the fourth quarter, the Celtics went on a run that gave them control of the game; with a lineup that featured four reserves, Boston outscored the Lakers 13–2 over nearly half the quarter. The Celtics held an 11-point lead with 3:57 remaining, but the Lakers mounted a late comeback bid behind Bryant, who posted 10 of the final 12 points for Los Angeles. Three free throws with 1:08 remaining pulled the Lakers within 92–86, and they had an opportunity to get closer in the final minute; however, a Bryant pass was stolen by Rondo, who subsequently made a layup to extend the Celtics' lead. Pierce led Boston with 19 points in the game. The Celtics benefitted from strong bench play, as their reserves doubled the scoring of the Lakers' backups. Davis scored 18 points (nine in the fourth quarter) and Nate Robinson added 12. For the Lakers, Bryant and Gasol, with 33 and 21 points respectively, accounted for most of the team's scoring. Andrew Bynum was unable to play in the second half because of a knee injury. Game 5 Boston started the game with a 6–0 run, and ended the first quarter leading by 2 on a strong performance by Paul Pierce. After