On a slow media day, Kobe Bryant?s comments may have been stretched into a guarantee that the Lakers would win Game 5 and take the series back to their home floor for the final two games of the NBA Finals.

"I promised?" Bryant asked. "I'll go with that, man. It's fine with me. We don't have a choice. We've got to get it done."

Whether or not they predict victory, the Lakers are now backed into a corner and will come out fighting for their lives.  For Gary Payton and Karl Malone, it?s one last fight to finally put the crowning achievement on their careers as their playing days draw to a close.