The Boston Celtics reached the NBA Finals on Friday night with an 89-81 win over the Detroit Pistons.

The victory was just the second road win for the Celtics this postseason - with the first coming in Game Three in Detroit - and allowed them to avoid a third Game Seven back home in Boston.

Paul Pierce had 27 points and 8 rebounds, and Kevin Garnett added 16 points and 6 boards in the win for the Celtics, who shot 44% from the field and attempted six more free throws than Detroit.

Ray Allen added 17 for Boston on 6-for-12 shooting.

The Celtics trailed by six heading into the fourth quarter but outscored the Pistons 29-13 over the final twelve minutes to advance to their twentieth NBA Finals.

Chauncey Billups, 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, and Richard Hamilton, 21 points despite a bum elbow, were fantastic for the Pistons, but everyone else struggled.

Rasheed Wallace was just 2-for-12, finishing with 4 points and 5 fouls in the loss.

With Wallace in foul trouble, Theo Ratliff brought his defense to the floor but was unable to help the Pistons offensively.

Detroit Coach Flip Saunders replaced Ratliff with Jason Maxiell to bring some semblance of an offensive attack to the paint, but the Celtics withstood Maxiell's 7 points.

Antonio McDyess, a huge factor through the first five games of the series, was just 2-for-3 from the floor as defenders like Kendrick Perkins, Garnett, and Pierce combined to keep him out of the game.

The last time the Celtics made the Finals was in 1987, when they lost to the same team they will play next week - the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Finals will begin Thursday in Boston.

The Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals on Thursday night with a 100-92 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals.

Kobe Bryant scored a series-high 39 points, and Pau Gasol added 12 points and 19 rebounds for the Lakers, who made just 44% of their shots but turned the ball over just nine times.

San Antonio took a thirteen-point lead into the second quarter, but the Lakers answered well to trim the advantage to just eight at the half.

The Lakers then stormed out of the gate to post a 27-20 edge in the third quarter, setting themselves up for a huge final period.

Lamar Odom, who blamed himself for the team's Game Three loss, posted 13 points and 8 rebounds in the series-clinching win.

Tim Duncan was nothing less than magical for the Spurs, tallying 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in the loss.

Manu Ginobili struggled, scoring just 9 points on 3-for-9 shooting with five fouls.

Tony Parker added 23 points and 4 assists, and Kurt Thomas contributed 11 points and 7 rebounds for the Spurs, who hit 48% of their shots but couldn't hang with the Lakers in the final minutes of the game.

Los Angeles outscored San Antonio 36-29 in the final twelve minutes, as the crowd at the STAPLES Center rose to its feet and cheered during the final few minutes of the game.

The Lakers will await the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals, with the Celtics leading the Pistons 3-2 in the series, which resumes on Friday night.

It will be the team's first Finals appearance since 2004, when they lost to Detroit.

Spurs' Head Coach Gregg Popovich believes that officials call games differently in the final moments, according to The San Antonio Express-News.

"Officials will tell you no," Popovich said. "But it?s a very strange thing. An official will tell you the game is called at the end of the game exactly like it is during the meat of the game, and that?s their story, and they are going to stand by it."

The controversy has bloomed because of what happened at the end of the team's Game Five loss to Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

Derek Fisher was not called for a foul on Brent Barry during the final seconds, although the league admitted on Wednesday that a foul should have been called.

"In reality, I don?t think that?s true, and I could give a thousand examples that things are called differently down the stretch, where I think most referees feel, and I agree with them, that things need to be more definitive before you are going to make a call. A referee is going to be hesitant to make a call that can decide a game at the end of the game unless it is really either gross or obvious," he added.

"That?s why I said that if I was an official I would not have called that a foul last night."

While it will not change the outcome, the NBA acknowledged that Brent Barry was fouled by Derek Fisher on the last second three point attempt which would have awarded the Spurs three free throws while down two points in Game 4, the San Antonio Express-News is reporting.

With less than two seconds left, Fisher jumped to defend a 3-point shot by Brent Barry, then made contact with Barry on the way down after the Spurs' guard pump-faked and twisted to get rid of the ball. Barry?s shot missed its mark, sealing the Lakers? victory.

?With the benefit of instant replay,? the spokesman from the NBA who reviewed the play said, ?it appears a foul should have been called.?

Kobe Bryant filed a letter against a website that claimed Bryant had an affair with Vanessa Curry, a Laker Girl.

Bryant denies the allegations.

TheDirty.com responded that based on the fact that the site had sources that made the claim of the affair, the site would not welcome the request from Bryant's attorney to take the post down.

John Paxson came away impressed with Lakers' Assistant Coach Kurt Rambis following their meeting, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune is reporting.

The Lakers granted Paxson permission to interview Rambis and fellow assistant  Brian Shaw during their break between the conference semifinals and finals.

The Lakers are one win away from returning to the NBA finals.

Kobe Bryant had 28 points and 10 rebounds and the Lakers beat the Spurs 93-91 on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals, as reported by the Associated Press.

The game ended in controversial fashion, with Derek Fisher jumping into Brent Barry on Barry's game-winning attempt as time expired.  The refs did not make the call despite the obvious contact, however, giving the Lakers the game.

It was the Spurs? first home loss of the postseason, and the defending champions face elimination when Game 5 is played in Los Angeles on Thursday.

After a rough loss to the Spurs on Sunday night the Lakers are looking for both Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom to get hungrier heading into Game Four, according to The Los Angeles Times.

"Dunk the basketball," Odom said of the improvements he needs to make. "Attack the rim a little harder. Finish at the free-throw line."

"I got to the point where I couldn't make a shot and then I got to the free-throw line and wouldn't make a free throw," he said. "That can't happen."

Gasol struggled in the loss as well, which didn't help cover for the shortcomings of Odom.

"Usually we're both sharp," Gasol said. "Or one's sharp and the other might not have the best night. But [Sunday] night, I don't think offensively we were where we needed to be and we didn't finish as we usually finish."

The Phoenix Suns met with Laker Assistant Coach Brian Shaw on May 18 while the Lakers were on a break in the playoffs, the East Valley Tribune is reporting.

Shaw met with the Chicago Bulls the day afterwards and is believed to be on the short list in both cities.

Kobe Bryant thinks that the Lakers did some growing up on Sunday night during their Game Three loss to the Spurs, according to ESPN.com.

"It's a good experience," Bryant said, "for us to play against the defending champs and have them kick our butts the way they did."

Los Angeles lost 103-84 to San Antonio, but they still lead the Western Conference Finals series 2-1.

"I think we grew up a lot tonight," Bryant said. "We have to understand the sense of urgency and type of energy that we have to play with and come back on Tuesday ready to do that."