It was not supposed to be this way. I wanted this article to sing the praises of Lamar Odom’s overdue Finals arrival. I had supposed it would be about Trevor Ariza’s breakout first half that had Boston on the ropes. I planned to write about how the series was all tied up.

Evidently, the Boston Celtics care nothing for my plans.

With their thrilling 97-91 win on Thursday in Los Angeles, Boston now leads the Finals 3-1 and stands a mere one game from claiming their NBA-record 17th championship. They accomplished this despite opening the game with their worst quarter of the season, which saw them fall behind by as many as 24 points. Yet, little by little, the Celtics chipped away at the Lakers’ lead. Even while the lead sat at 18 at halftime, Boston had regained its offensive rhythm and was showing signs it could further close the gap. In the crucial third quarter, the C’s outscored Los Angeles 31-15 to close the margin to just two. Then, in the fourth, they merely broke the will of the young Lakers and stole the game outright. To give this feat perspective, no other team in Finals history has ever come back when trailing by more than 15-points in the first quarter. It is a game that no one will soon forget, even though Lakers fans would give just about anything to get a case of selective amnesia.

The Celtics owe this momentous win to a wide-ranging cast of notables, but perhaps none more so than Ray Allen. Criticized and declaimed throughout the early rounds of these playoffs, Allen has been phenomenal all series. His 19 points and three steals on Thursday night were critical, but it was his nine rebounds that truly distinguished the usually rebounding-impaired 32-year old shooting guard. His isolation breakdown of Sasha Vujacic for a beautiful left-handed lay-in with 16 seconds left put Boston’s foot firmly on the Lakers’ throat and should Boston close the series out as expected, will be remembered as the play that determined the series.

As sterling as Allen’s play was, he certainly had help. Paul Pierce (20 points, seven assists and magnificent defense on Kobe Bryant) and Kevin Garnett (16 points, 11 rebounds) rebounded well from their off games Tuesday night. James Posey’s four three-pointers provided an unexpected boost from Boston’s bench and Eddie House’s clutch shooting down the stretch kept Boston within arm’s reach. This was truly a team effort that did honour to the way the Celtics have played all season: as one. To borrow the cliche, Boston’s whole outweighs the sum of it parts, with the team’s vision and oneness shining through. No one player owns this team: it is as much Allen’s or Posey’s team as it is Garnett’s or Pierce’s. Now after their Game 4 heroics, they are one win away from the game’s ultimate prize.

What of the Lakers though? How did they collapse so stupendously when their star could not have looked brighter in the first half? Game 4 finally saw Lamar Odom show up (19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists). Pau Gasol (17 and 10) looked every bit the star he has been made out to be. Kobe Bryant, though his shot was terribly off, still had heroic moments down the stretch, and early in the game was a masterful facilitator. But by allowing Boston to score 57 points in the second half (including a 21-3 Celtic run over the final five minutes) they simply gave away the game, and probably the series, with their horrendous team defense. No team has ever rebounded for a 3-1 Finals deficit, and with the way they played in the second half of Game 4, it looks very unlikely this Lakers team will be the first to do so.

Game 4′s comeback will go down in Finals lore as one of the great team recoveries ever. It has them standing above the Lakers grave, shovel in hand. We will now have to wait until Sunday to see if they can finish the job.

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