Knee no problem for Pierce

The knee turned out not to be the story of Game 2 for Paul Pierce.

Anyone concerned about how Pierce would play with a sprained right knee can relax. His layered black sleeve over a white bandage was more like an accessory than a hindrance.

He played 41 minutes, 28 seconds and scored 28 points. Only Kobe Bryant (30) scored more. Pierce was 9 for 16 from the floor, including a perfect 4 of 4 from beyond the arc, and 6 of 7 at the free throw line.

Instead of celebrating a blowout victory, though, the Celtics were left having to be satisfied with the 108-102 win that pushed them up, 2-0, in the NBA Finals as the series moves to Los Angeles for Game 3 tomorrow night.

The Lakers nearly erased all of a 24-point deficit in the fourth quarter, and were down, 104-102, with 38 seconds left. Pierce hit two free throws to extend the Celtics' lead to 106-102 with 22 seconds left. Pierce then took to the defensive end, where he blocked Sasha Vujacic's 3-point shot with 13 seconds left. The Celtics walked away victorious but not the way Pierce had hoped.

"I was a little disappointed in our play in the last six minutes of the game," Pierce said. "I thought we just weren't aggressive enough to put the game away."

There was a lot of action on the floor for the guy concerned about his knee. Pierce acknowledged the knee may be a little sore this morning.

"I felt pretty good," Pierce said. "I didn't really think about the injury because once I step on the court, it pretty much goes out the window. You hear the crowd, the adrenaline is going. Probably feel a little bit better after the game now that I'm kind of winding down."

If the shootaround earlier in the day was any indication, Pierce looked comfortable as he and guard Sam Cassell engaged in an active game of one-on-one.

"I'm not surprised by Paul playing 40 minutes," coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought before the game he felt great, he looked great, so I liked what he was going to do."

There was a time when the game wasn't a nail-biter. The Celtics led by 24 - 95-71 - with 8:05 left. They were smiling and laughing along the sideline.

Pierce scored a game-high 16 points in the opening 24 minutes as the Celtics built a 54-42 lead. But it was the last six minutes of the fourth quarter that caught the Celtics off guard.

A big lead quickly dwindled and the Celtics were forced to protect a single-digit advantage. Pierce hit a layup with 2:06 left to make it 104-93, but he committed back-to-back turnovers that led to Vujacic's 3-pointer and Vladimir Radmanovic's dunk that cut the deficit to 104-100.

"Myself, I was a little lackadaisical with the ball," Pierce said. "It's a great win, but definitely a lesson to be learned in the last six minutes."

Pierce continued to be a primary contributor in the series, despite the sore knee. In Game 1, he had a momentous return after being taken to the locker room in a wheelchair. He finished with 22 points in the 98-88 victory.

Now the series moves to Pierce's backyard - he grew up in Inglewood, Calif.

"We did our job, we held home court, and now we can break it back with another win in Game 3," Pierce said. "We're not settling on a 2-0 lead. We want to go out there and win two games in LA. That's our focus, and that's what we want to go out there and try to do."

Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com