LOS ANGELES – After waiting 22 years for another world championship, the Boston Celtics are making their fans wait at least another few days.

The Celtics had their chances to nail down banner No. 17 last night at Staples Center but the Los Angeles Lakers weren't ready to die. With their season hanging in the balance, the Lakers made all the tough plays in the final few minutes and gutted out a 103-98 victory in Game Five of the NBA Finals.

Boston's lead in the series is now three games to two. Game Six is on tap tomorrow night back in Boston. A Game Seven, if necessary, is slated for Thursday.

The Lakers needed several critical plays down the stretch and Kobe Bryant seemingly made them all. After scoring just three points in the second and third quarters, Bryant hit for seven key points in the fourth and made the defensive play of the game with a strip of Paul Pierce with just 41 seconds left in a two-point game.

He turned the steal into an easy layup that gave his team a 99-95 lead. When Ray Allen missed a drive and Kevin Garnett couldn't tip in the miss the next time down, the Lakers appeared home free.

The Lakers kept the door open a bit by missing two of four free-throw chances, and Eddie House hit a wild 3-point shot with 14 seconds left to cut L.A.’s lead to 101-98. But Derek Fisher iced the game with two free throws with nine seconds left.

"We had a chance to win this game. We let it slip right through our hands," said Boston’s Kevin Garnett.

Bryant led the Lakers with 25 points and he received plenty of help. Lamar Odom added 20 points and 11 rebounds. Pau Gasol played his best game of the series and finished with 19 points and 13 boards and Derek Fisher added 15 points.

"I know I didn’t want to see the Celtics celebrating on my home floor with champagne and all that crap," said Gasol, who took advantage of Kendrick Perkins missing the game with a shoulder injury.

The Celtics received a monster game from Pierce as the captain poured in a game-high 38 points, but no other teammate came up big. Ray Allen scored 16 points and Garnett added 13 points and 14 rebounds while battling major foul issues.

Allen left the arena right after the game do to an undisclosed health issue with one of his children. His status for the rest of the series is unknown.

"Well, we wanted to go home (to Boston), but we didn’t want to play. You know what I mean?" said coach Doc Rivers. "But now we have to play. That’s why the regular season is so important. We fought for it all year. We have Game Six at home and that’s not a bad place to be."

Pierce was clearly upset with not being able to carry his team to victory. He made 10-of-22 shots, hit 16-of-19 free throws and played all but the final two seconds. But his three fourth-quarter turnovers ruined his night, especially the key Bryant steal.

"We tried to run a screen-and-roll with Kevin and I thought I cleared the screen," said Pierce, who added that he didn't think Bryant fouled him on the play. "He made a great defensive play. Kobe's a great player. He made two great steals on myself in the fourth quarter. It definitely hurts. It's a tough one to swallow."

Just like in Game Four, the Celtics began the game poorly and fell behind by 17 points. They trailed by 19 early in the second but roared back behind 16 Pierce points to cut the Laker lead to only 55-52 at the half. The Celts grabbed the lead briefly in the third quarter and tied the game at 90-90 with 4:35 to play, but this time it was the Lakers who came up with the key plays down the stretch.

"We were right there. We were knocking on the door but they made the big plays late," said P.J. Brown.

The slow starts definitely have to end if the Celtics hope to win their championship.

Last night's first-quarter ugliness wasn’t quite as bad as Game Four's, but it was close. The Celts trailed 35-14 on Thursday night and fell behind 39-22 last night. The Lakers shot 65 percent from the floor with Bryant playing his best opening 12 minutes of the series. He spotted up for five open 3-pointers and swished four of them and finished with 15 first-quarter points.

The Celtics were hurt by two early Garnett fouls and in inability to keep the Lakers off the glass as Perkins' absence was felt right away.

"It was important for me to get off to a quick start so my team could feed off that energy," said Bryant.

The Celts trailed 41-22 early in the third but Pierce rolled for 16 second-quarter points as he continually beat Laker defenders off the dribble. The L.A. lead was only 55-52 at the half and that second-quarter flurry seemingly gave the Celtics all of the game's momentum. When Allen hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 57-57 and Rajon Rondo canned a 15-footer for a 62-60 lead early in the third quarter, the Celtics appeared on their way.

But the Lakers weren't ready to fold their tents just yet. Los Angeles closed the quarter on a 19-8 run to lead 79-70 entering the final 12 minutes. Bryant was not a factor as he hit for only one three-point play, but the Lakers dug in on defense and held Boston to 18 points on 33 percent shooting. They held the Celts scoreless over the final 3:04 and built their nine-point lead.

Pierce and Allen combined for four of Boston’s seven third-quarter field goals and the duo cried out for help in the fourth. Garnett wasn't stepping up and the Lakers went up 88-74 after hoops by Jordan Farmar and Luke Walton. But veteran guard Sam Cassell did provide the spark the Celtics needed. He scored seven straight points to spark a 12-2 run that ended with James Posey draining a corner 3-pointer off an off-balance feed from Pierce. That shot cut L.A.’s lead to 90-86 and forced a timeout with 5:28 to play.

The Celts kept charging and wrapped up a 16-2 run with a Garnett jumper that tied the game at 90-90. The Celts trailed 95-93 with 2:31 left, but Garnett missed two free-throw chances. Bryant then made two freebies for a 97-93 lead before Pierce answered with two of his own to make it a two-point game with 1:14 left.

The Celtics got the ball back with a chance to tie, but that's when Bryant snuck around Pierce and poked the ball away for the game’s most critical play. His easy run-out for a layup pushed the lead to 99-95 with 37 seconds left, just enough of a cushion for the Lakers to escape and extend the series.