BOSTON -- In the first game, he had hurt his knee in the third quarter, got carried off the court as if his season was in jeopardy, then came back a few minutes later like John Wayne rushing up Iwo Jima in some old Hollywood movie.

Talk about basketball drama.

Paul Pierce coming back in one of the most inspirational moments in his long career with the Celtics, a moment no one could have scripted.

Paul Pierce coming back in an emotional moment that became the signature of that first game.

Then came the aftermath, the soap opera that began swirling around Pierce.

"You know, I think God just sent this angel down, and said, 'Hey, you're going to be all right,'" Pierce had said after the game.

Then Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Friday that he viewed Pierce's miracle comeback with a certain skepticism, saying, 'I don't know if the angels visited him at halftime, or in the third period. But he didn't limp when he came out on the floor."

That only fanned the flames that had been simmering ever since Pierce had returned to make two big threes and score half of his 22 points after the injury.

Angels.

Angels in the Garden.

Coming soon to a theater near you.

That was the subplot going into last night, anyway, Pierce in the center of the storm, the first one of this series.

Would he be able to play?

And, if he could, how effective would he be?

And if he couldn't be effective, what was that going to mean to the Celtics, since he is such a big part of their offense, the one guy who routinely takes the ball to the hoop, the one guy who is so good at getting to the free-throw line.

And what might it matter to the Celtics considering that it the 2-3-2 format of this series there is tremendous pressure on the home team to win the first two games, or else it might never get home again?

Those were the questions hovering over last night's second game of the NBA Finals, and one of them was answered before the game started, when Pierce was introduced, to an explosion of noise.

The other big one?

That didn't take long, either. Pierce hitting a three from the left side for the Celtics' first score. A couple of minutes later he had another three-point play, this time the old-fashioned way, and he had scored six of the Celtics' first eight points, complete with a drive that came right out of a vintage Pierce highlight film.

Balky knee?

Nowhere to be seen.

He looked exactly as we've come to expect Pierce to look, as if his injury of Thursday night was just some mirage that came and went. He was explosive. He was intense. He played with the passion and hunger he's shown all year, in this season where he's been on the best team of his career, one that's revived his career.

At the half he had 16 points, on 5-for-9 shooting from the field, the Celtics were up 12, and all of the pregame talk about his sprained knee seemed like the definition of yesterday's news.

Once again, Kobe was shaky from the field, again settling for jumpers, as if unable to get to the rim, unable to be the Kobe of legend. If you had wandered in from Pluto, you would have thought Pierce was Kobe, and vice versa.

And once again the Celtics were the more aggressive team, shooting 19 free throws in the first half to the Lakers' two. Roll that stat around your tongue for a while.

In the third quarter, when the Lakers were making a mini run, Pierce scored in the lane, then again on a nifty pass from Rajon Rondo for his 23rd point of the game. With 1:20 left in the quarter they were up by 20. The "Beat L.A." chants ran around the Garden like a fast break, the Lakers all but on the plane back to the West Coast.

Not that Pierce was the only story last night.

Rondo had a wonderful game -- a ton of assists, a lot of good decisions.

And Leon Powe?

Think of all the superlatives you can. They all fit. He finished with 21 points off the bench, all on hustle and energy, the game of his life on the night that ABC told his personal story at halftime.

And then, just when it seemed as if the Lakers were going to steal this game, Pierce made two clutch free throws that gave the Celtics a four-point lead with 22.8 seconds left, finishing with 28 for the night.

Angels in the Garden?

They were there last night, no doubt about it.