One might want to ask thyself what exactly the New Jersey Nets and the Boston Celtics are trying to achieve.  In the last three games it has been the Nets who have jumped out to the lead only to have the Celtics mount a strong comeback before we get into the real game; can the Nets hold on?  With the teams following such a common theme it almost feels scripted to the point where we expect the Nets to create a lead and for the Celtics to come back.

New Jersey could not in Game 2 when Boston stole the win, coming back from 21 down at the third quarter break to create history, but in the last two games ? last night included ? it was the Nets who were able to hold on to create a three games to two buffer and more importantly move within one game of a trip to the NBA Finals.

"One win from going to the finals is a heck of an achievement," Nets Coach Byron Scott said. "But we still haven't achieved anything yet. Our objective is to get there. Not get one game away from there."

"It ain't over," responded Celtics guard Kenny Anderson. "It definitely ain't over. We've got Friday. We've got to come at it real hard Friday."

"We didn't lose the game because of (the start)," Antoine Walker said. "We lost the game because they switched to a zone, threw our rhythm off a little bit. We were prepared for it, but not as much as they played it."

Out West there is another interesting battle in progress, the Sacramento Kings overcoming their own woes to, like the Nets in the East, hold a three games to two advantage over their opponent.  The Lakers are lucky to even remain in the contest, a little luck and a twist of fate allowing Robert Horry to hit the game winning three pointer to sink the Kings by one solitary point in Game 4.  Horry, camped outside the arc, barely moving to catching the ball slapped by the Kings Vlade Divac under the basket off a Shaquille O?Neal lay up, caught and shot the ball in one motion as time expired to bail out the Lakers after both Kobe and Shaq had missed their chances to send the game into overtime.

Despite lucky breaks and being facing elimination in Game 6 Friday Los Angeles, in many people?s eyes, still remain the favorites.  Each game thus far has been relatively close and each game could have went either way.  The total margin from the last two games is only two points, the lowest margin possible, which shows how close this series has been, but despite having to win the next two games in order to keep their season alive the Lakers still believe they will overcome the odds.

"They've been better in three games," Rick Fox said. "We've been better in two. So we plan to be better on Friday and have it all wash out on Sunday."

"The TV doesn't lie," Robert Horry said. "Video doesn't lie. You can see certain things that should have been our way. Same way (the Kings) felt about my shot (in Game 4). They snuck one, we snuck one. So we're even."

It has been an entertaining third round of the playoffs, that is for certain.  But can both the Lakers and the Celtics back up their talk and take the next two games, including the seventh game on the road?  For now the ball is on their own courts, and only they can stop the 2002 NBA Finals from being a Kings-Nets affair.