There will be several NBA posts today to recap Boston’s epic comeback in game four.

Were you like us – waiting patiently for phantom calls from the refs to help bail the Lakers out of an embarrassing collapse? The Lakers led by 18 at the break after their most complete half of the postseason, and Kobe didn’t have a basket. We urged the boozy TBL after-dark crowd to switch over to Vanilla Sky. Vegaswatch noted that some online sites were offering the Celtics at 26:1 to win. It’s too bad nothing the Celtics did in the first half portended a rally for the ages.

It wasn’t a sexy comeback full of highlight-worthy plays, but the elixir came in the form of pesky defense, a boost from the bench, and plenty of Paul Pierce, who seems to be the favorite for the MVP. A wise man mentioned to us yesterday that Pierce spent too much time focusing on the media and his return to Englewood after game two, and it showed in his wretched performance. The team’s de facto leader and spokesperson clammed up prior to game four, and then pumped in 20 points while clinging to Kobe (6-for-19) at the defensive end. Phil Jackson was powerless.

One note and one question: The Lakers bench shot 5-for-21 last night and continued its mostly horrendous play in this series. And lastly … are all those jokers who continually killed Doc Rivers as a terrible coach going to give the man his due for leading Boston to the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history? It’s such a disappointment when folks trash Rivers as a hacky coach when the Celtics lose … and then never sing his praise when he’s victorious.

(And yes, Bill Plaschke, the Lakers choked. We know you’re trying to be all cute and wordy, but if this isn’t a choke, we need to remove the word from the English language. The Lakers could taste the 2-2 series at the half and it’s not difficult to imagine them thinking, ‘well, we get this next one, and then we have two chances in Boston to lock it up.’)