The obituaries for the Los Angeles Lakers can be put away, at least for now. The Lakers are alive in their Western Conference semifinal series with the Oklahoma City Thunder after a jaw-dropping free-throw performance Friday night enabled them to hang on for a 99-96 victory.
The Lakers trail the series 2-1 with Game 4 Saturday night in L.A.
The Lakers made 41 of 42 free throws (only Andrew Bynum missed one) and Kobe Bryant scored 36 points, helping L.A. claw back from a late five-point deficit. The performance at the line was the second-best in NBA playoff history for teams with more than 30 attempts. Only Dallas' 49-for-50 effort against San Antonio on May 19, 2003, was better.
The Thunder were 26-for-28 from the line, but it wasn't quite enough.
Over in the Eastern Conference, the decades-long rivalry between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics has rarely had a more memorable finish from a Philly point of view than what was witnessed Friday night. The Celtics just want to forget it.
The Sixers trailed 14-0 to start, then 20-5, then 46-31 at halftime after shooting 23% in the first two quarters.
And they won the game going away.
Whether it be attributed to younger legs or a stronger will, the 76ers blew past the Celtics in the second half for a 92-83 victory that tied their Eastern semifinal series 2-2.
After a first half in which they barely had more field goals (nine) than turnovers (seven), the Sixers were booed by their fans as they headed to the locker room. But they decided they weren't ready to head back to Boston Monday facing elimination.
Perhaps even more surprising, though, was the way battle-tested Boston went cold and melted down after what looked like it would be an easy win. The Celtics look nothing more than mediocre in these playoffs and are making things hard on themselves.
"We lost our composure," coach Doc Rivers said.
Winners:
Kobe Bryant -- Fourteen of his 36 points came in the fourth quarter, and he made all 18 of his free throws on the night. Talk about answering the call in a must-win game.
Pau Gasol -- The Lakers forward on Friday won the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his extensive charity work as a UNICEF ambassador, winning a vote by members of the Professional Basketball Writers Association. Gasol has traveled the world to raise awareness for UNICEF over the past seven years, primarily working on programs involving nutrition, education and health care for children. He also has strong ties to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, where he began his NBA career
Andre Iguodala -- He converted only five field goals, but two of them, including a huge three-pointer, gave the Sixers a late five-point lead.
Lavoy Allen -- Sixers rookie forward, a second-round pick, has seen his playing time jump recently and contributed eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds Friday in more than 32 minutes off the bench.
Losers:
Thunder players not named Durant, Westbrook and Harden -- The OKC big three combined for 73 points, but the other seven players who saw action accumulated only 23 and missed 19 of 29 shots. More will be needed.
Kevin Garnett -- Ugly numbers for the Celtics frontcourt star, who otherwise has had a good series: Nine points on 3-for-12 shooting along with seven turnovers. With their big man struggling, the Celts followed suit.
