Kobe Bryant shot woefully. Pau Gasol did not assert himself in the paint. And Ron Artest was absent at the offensive end.

Yet, the Los Angeles Lakers still found a way to win against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden, 91-84. The defending champions now have a 2-1 lead over Boston in their best of seven series.

Bryant had a game-high 29 points, including crucial baskets in the third period that gave the Lakers cushion heading into the fourth. However, it was Derek Fisher who did the most damage against the Celtics.

The 36-year-old hit bank shot after bank shot in the fourth quarter to gather 16 points—11 of which came in the fourth.

The Celtics started the game on fire as Kevin Garnett scored the first six points of Boston. Laker coach Phil Jackson was forced to burn a timeout with a little over nine minutes remaining in the first. After that, the Lakers went on a scoring run and never looked back.

Garnett was determined to make a difference in this game, and he led the Celtics with 25 points. However, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce did not. Pierce had to work hard for his baskets, and Ray Allen had a woeful shooting night.

The Celtics will try to tie the series on Thursday.
 

The Celtics were able to hold on in Game 2 because they held onto the ball.

Boston committed 12 turnovers in the first half and just two in the second in Sunday night's 103-94 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. The win evened the best-of-seven series at 1-1, heading into Tuesday night's Game 3 in Boston.

Some of the Celtics' biggest turnovers on Sunday came in the last two minutes of the second quarter, when the Lakers cut a 54-41 deficit to six points. Kobe Bryant stole the ball with three seconds left and hit a three-pointer — then stole the inbounds pass but missed a three that would have made it a three-point game.

"The last couple were brutal," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "We had a chance to be up nine or 12 to end the half. But we weathered that storm, and I thought in the second half we played with great composure."

In the end, it was the Lakers who turned the ball over.

Andrew Bynum was called for an offensive foul with 4:39 left and the Lakers leading 90-89. Ron Artest threw the ball away to let the Celtics open a 93-90 lead, then Rondo blocked Derek Fisher's three-point attempt from behind with under three minutes left.

"Yes, we had some turnovers," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "That kind of set them off and set the game off and turned it around in that sequence. We had a little lead right at the end, and we didn't do our job. They did."

It was an eight-point game when Bryant cut it to 98-93 on a long three-pointer with 53 seconds to play, but the next time down Rondo poked the ball away from the Lakers star.

The Lakers finished with 15 turnovers.

"We turned the ball over a couple times down the stretch when the game was on the line," forward Pau Gasol said. "That was tough, deflating. And we just couldn't convert offensively at the end. They took advantage and took their time and converted and executed their plays. So that's kind of how it got away from us."