The NBA Finals are going back to Boston. Barely.

The Los Angeles Lakers survived two separate rallies by the Celtics Sunday night to win 103-98 and force a Game 6 in their best-of-seven series. That’ll take place Tuesday at the Garden, which gives Lakers coach Phil Jackson one day to figure out how to get through to his players. They’ve dropped the cash in each of the first five games.

Boston has outworked and outplayed the Lakers for much of this series. During the regular season, the Celtics had the best record in the league (66-16) and the best defense (96.2 points allowed per 100 possessions). Top-flight defense requires an incredible amount of energy and focus. The Lakers have shown that at times, but not without a disappointing number of mental breakdowns on their part.

The idea of “deserving” to win is a dangerous one, but Boston comes closest to fitting the bill. We’ll find out later this week.