LOS ANGELES — As purple-and-gold streamers rained down, Lamar Odom shook his head in approval, Derek Fisher caressed the game ball against his chest and Kobe Bryant clapped his hands before striding from the floor.

"I love L.A." blared through the speakers and "Not In Our House!" flashed on the scoreboard.

The P.A. announcer cried, "This is not over yet!"

The Los Angeles Lakers aren't done playing. The NBA finals are headed East.

Bryant scored 25 points, including a decisive dunk in the final minute — and Odom added 20 as the Lakers, playing with pride on their star-studded stage, prevented the Celtics from winning a 17th title with a 103-98 win in Game 5 yesterday to close to 3-2 in this restored rivalry.

"We didn't want to see any champagne popping," Odom said. "It wasn't easy. I wouldn't expect it to be."

No team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in the finals to win a title. The first 28 failed, and now the Lakers, who blew a 24-point lead and lost Game 4 and nearly squandered a 19-point lead yesterday, have a chance to do something extraordinary.

They'll have to win on the Celtics' parquet floor tomorrow to force a winner-take-all Game 7, where anything is possible.

Especially with Bryant, the game's best player, on hand.

"In training camp if you told us, 'We'll give you two games that you have to win to win a world championship,' we would have taken it in a heartbeat," Bryant said. "This is a great opportunity for us."

The league's MVP and ultimate finisher isn't finished yet.

On a night when Bryant didn't have his best game, the other Lakers came up big.

Pau Gasol had 19 points and 13 rebounds, Odom had 11 rebounds and four blocks, Derek Fisher added 15 points and Jordan Farmar came off the bench to get 11.

"We were aggressive. We played hard," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Not smart all the time, but we played hard."

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 38 points and played all but two seconds. Kevin Garnett added 13 points and 14 rebounds, and Ray Allen had 16 points. But Boston's Big Three couldn't close out their first chance at winning it all, and now will get two cracks at home.

Following the game, Allen left the arena immediately because of an undisclosed health issue with one of his children.

The Celtics, trying to win their first title since 1986, are consoled by the fact they are going home. They are 47-7 at TD Banknorth Garden this season.

"We wanted to go back home, but we didn't want to play," coach Doc Rivers said. "But now we have to play, and we earned that right. That's why the regular season is so important. We fought for it all year. We have Game 6 at home, and that's not a bad place to be."

After scoring 15 points in the first quarter, Bryant went cold from the floor and finished just 8 of 21. But he made a big steal, poking the ball away from Pierce and streaking down to deliver a two-handed dunk with 37.4 seconds left.

"I just was kind of reading the play and I was able to get my hands on the ball and get out and get a dunk," Bryant said.

The Celtics called a timeout, superfan Jack Nicholson jumped to his feet and the scoreboard in Staples Center flashed: Not In Our House!

On Saturday, Bryant had said "this is far from over," and he could be right.

This is the 11th meeting — and first since 1987 — between the league's two most storied franchises, and it could be headed for a crescendo befitting the matchups of the past.