Boston, MA (Best E Casino) - In what had been a blowout with under eight minutes remaining, the Boston Celtics denied the Los Angeles Lakers one of the most incredible comebacks in playoff history, holding on for a 108-102 win in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Paul Pierce showed little affects of a knee injury, scoring 28 points, including hitting two big free throws in the final minute for the Celtics, who nearly blew a 24-point lead in the fourth. However, they moved to 12-1 at home in the playoffs and are halfway to their first championship since 1986 and 17th overall.

"We're happy because we won, but at the same time we definitely learned a valuable lesson there in the fourth quarter," Pierce said.

Pierce, who was carried off the court with a sprained right knee in the third quarter of Thursday's opener before coming back to lead the Celtics to a 98-88 win, shot 9-of-16 from the field and had eight assists.

Leon Powe led a spirited effort from Boston's bench with a playoff career-best 21 points. Powe, who came into the game averaging 4.6 points in the playoffs, went 6-of-7 from the floor and 9-of-13 at the foul line.

"We feel like we have the best bench in the series," Pierce said. "Leon went out there and proved it tonight."

Kevin Garnett totaled 17 points and 14 rebounds in the win, while Ray Allen had 17 points and Rajon Rondo finished with 16 assists for Boston.

Kobe Bryant had 21 of his 30 points in the second half for the Lakers, who also got 17 points and 10 rebounds from Pau Gasol. Vladimir Radmanovic had 13 points and 10 boards.

"We played with a sense of desperation and more aggression," Bryant said of the fourth quarter. "That's something for us to take home and learn from."

Game 3 is Tuesday at the Staples Center, where the Lakers have dominated in the postseason. The Lakers have won 14 straight home games, including eight in a row in the playoffs and they'll host the next two contests and Game 5, if necessary.

Garnett's jumper provided Boston with its largest lead at 95-71 with 7:55 remaining, but the Lakers rallied by using a 31-9 run.

Bryant's two free throws cut the deficit to 104-102 with 38.4 seconds left, but Pierce drove to the lane and was fouled by Derek Fisher. Two foul shots later it was 106-102 with 22.8 seconds to go.

Pierce then blocked a three-point try from Sasha Vujacic, and James Posey canned two more at the foul line with 12.6 seconds left to seal the win.

"It's a live and learn type thing," Garnett said. "We will apply what we learned tonight and take it on the road."

After the game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson was miffed by the free throw disparity as his team made all 10 at the line, compared to the Celtics going 27-of-38.

"I'm most struck in the fact that Leon Powe gets more foul shots than our whole team does in 14 minutes of play," Jackson said. "That's ridiculous."

Up by such a big margin, the Celtics seemed to be on cruise control in the fourth, and that upset their head coach.

"We have to play through the game for 48 minutes," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "I don't think we did that. We got cute when we got the lead. We stated to try and make sensational plays instead of keeping it simple. We had a chance not to allow them get comfortable and we did."

The Lakers hit five shots from beyond the arc during their huge run and were helped by the Celtics getting sloppy.

Pierce's layup had the Celtics ahead 104-93 with 2:02 remaining, but Bryant countered with a jumper, and after Fisher came up with a steal, Vujacic nailed a three-pointer. Radmanovic then stole the ball and cruised in for a jam with 1:03 left for a 104-100 difference.

Rondo missed a jumper, setting up Bryant's two free throws and the finish.

Already ahead by 12 points at the half, the Celtics started to pull away as Pierce's three from the top of the arc extended the margin to 62-46.

The Lakers rallied to close the difference to nine as Gasol's jumper moved the score to 68-59 with 4 1/2 minutes left in the third. However, the Celtics came back with the next 13 points. Included in that was a big three-pointer from Allen from the left corner, moving the cushion to 77-59. Powe capped the 13- point flurry with an emphatic right-handed jam in the final minute of the quarter.

The third ended in fitting fashion for the Celtics. Rondo darted into the lane, used a ball fake before laying it off to Powe for another jam with 0.8 seconds left for an 83-61 lead.

Down by two after the opening quarter, the Celtics scored 10 in a row to begin the second, culminated by Pierce's three-ball from the left side. With just over a minute left in the half, Garnett threw a length-of-the court pass to a leaking Rondo for a slam. Rondo capped the half with a free throw for a 54-42 advantage.

Game Notes

It was the most points for Powe since he had 27 in a 105-94 win over the New Jersey Nets on April 16, the regular season finale...Celtics guard Sam Cassell sprained his right wrist midway through the second quarter and didn't return...Odom had 10 points and eight rebounds...Bryant also had eight assists and shot 11-of-23 from the field. He picked up a technical foul three minutes into the third quarter after arguing he was fouled...The Celtics shot 52.9 percent from the field, including 9-of-14 from beyond the arc.