LOS ANGELES-With a 45-21 lead midway through the second quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers seemed poised to thrust themselves back into their NBA Finals series with the Boston Celtics. Nevertheless, Boston rallied from this 24-point hole and seized complete control late in the fourth quarter as they gashed the Lakers, 97-91 Thursday evening at Staples Center. Paul Pierce had 20 points and seven assists, Ray Allen chipped in with 19 points and nine rebounds, and James Posey made numerous big shots in providing 18 points off the bench for the Celtics in their convincing victory. The Lakers, who overall amassed 58 first-half points, punctuated by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Jordan Farmar, were silenced in the second half as Boston’s stifling defense surrendered only 33 points after intermission. While the Lakers still have a chance to send things back to New England for potential Games 6 and 7, history is against Los Angeles as no one has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in NBA Finals history. Lamar Odom had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, while Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol each had 17 points in defeat for Los Angeles. Game 5 is slated for Sunday evening at Staples Center