Bynum determined to reign in his pain

Andrew Bynum, the influential Los Angeles centre, is ready to play through the pain barrier again tomorrow morning as the Lakers make a last push to land the title. Bynum's right knee needs surgery to repair a torn cartilage and the injury flared up again in their Game 3 victory over the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals on Tuesday night. And although he will need intensive treatment before Game 4 he has no intention of missing the match.

"Before the game, it's going to be questionable for Thursday," Bynum told the Los Angeles Times. "There's a lot of swelling in there because of a couple of little tweaks I got today. What I'm going to do is just attack it all day [Wednesday] and probably get three treatments in and be ready." Derek Fisher, the Lakers guard, struck a blow for the NBA's "senior citizens" by powering his team to their 91-84 victory on Tuesday to put his team 2-1 up in the series ahead of Game 4.

The 35-year-old produced crucial plays down the stretch as the Lakers took the lead in the finals and seized back the homecourt advantage in the best-of-seven series. Fisher's Lakers teammates were in awe after he scored 11 fourth-quarter points to hold off a Boston fightback. "Huge, huge, huge the way he played down the stretch," Pau Gasol, the Lakers forward told reporters at his locker after the game.

With the Celtics closing in late in the game after trailing by as many as 17 points, Fisher's heroics kept them at bay in the face of ear-splitting support from the Boston Garden crowd. A drive to the hoop, a short-range floater, a jumper and a sweet bank shot off the glass matched everything the Celtics could muster after Boston pulled to 68-67. A tough three-point play by Fisher, seeking a fifth championship ring with the Lakers, put it away for visiting Los Angeles.

The guard drove into a wall of Boston big men and sank his lay -up and a foul shot on top of it to give the Lakers an 87-80 lead with less than a minute to play. "He was unbelievable," Bynum added. "That's what he does. He's a big-time dude. He comes through in the clutch all the time." Kobe Bryant, who led the scoring with 29 points, said Fisher pumped up the team after the Lakers scored only 15 points in the third quarter to see their lead shrivel to six points.

"Derek, he's our vocal leader," said Bryant, who made only 10-of-29 shots. "He's the guy that pulls everybody together and is always giving positive reinforcement." Bryant said he was excited to see Fisher come through. "He's been criticised quite a bit for his age," Bryant said. "It's a huge thrill for him and for all of us to see him come through in these moments. But truthfully, he's done it over and over and over again, so it's almost his responsibility to our team to do these things."

* Reuters