The Los Angeles Lakers, now trailing the NBA finals 3-2, beat the Boston Celtics 103-98 on Sunday at home to force Game 6 back in Beantown on Tuesday. And while any win is a good one, when the fans in Staples Center bid their team good luck after the final horn had sounded, not many could possibly be thinking the boys in gold had much of a shot to take the series in seven.

"We'll probably have to play better," Kobe Bryant said following a game in which his Lakers nearly blew another big fourth-quarter lead. "We've won on the road before. We shot the ball like crap back in Beantown the last time, so we're due."

Bryant's confidence aside, the thought of winning two straight in Boston is a daunting one for Los Angeles. The Celtics have covered all five point spreads so far in the finals – testament to their unexpected success against the favored Lakers – and have lost just once in the postseason on their home court.

The Celtics do have one big concern and that's the health of big man Kendrick Perkins, who missed Sunday's game with a sore shoulder. Boston coach Doc Rivers said he's doubtful for Game 6 too, and that, as the Washington Post's Michael Wilbon writes, is bad news for Boston: "With Perkins out, the Celtics might be out of whack. The Lakers suddenly have room to maneuver. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom seem to stand taller. Kobe has room to drive... His very presence allows [Kevin] Garnett to play forward, not center, a not-so-subtle distinction that favors Garnett's frame and personality."

Most NBA oddsmakers have made Boston a 4-point favorite for Tuesday's game.

Bet on the NBA Finals as Kobe Bryant's Lakers take on KG and the Boston Three Party.

The Kid Gloves Are Nearly Off

Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain is scheduled to make his fourth career start this Thursday at home versus the Padres.

On Saturday – following two short, progressively better outings against Toronto and Kansas City – the 22-year-old surrendered six hits and just one earned run over six innings in New York's 2-1 win in Houston.  

Chamberlain now sports a respectable 4.08 ERA as a starter but has yet to stick around long enough for a decision. Chances are his pitch count will be around 100 for the Padres, so it's feasible a W or L could follow.

"I've felt good all along about the move that we've made," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said on Saturday about the decision to poach Chamberlain from the bullpen. "It was the move we talked about in the winter. Obviously, there's part of me that wishes he could have thrown 220 innings this year, but we knew that wasn't the case, and we had to be a little creative at the beginning. But this is all working out nicely."

Little Help?

Toronto pitcher Shaun Marcum will earn $402,500 this season. That's good money for most of us. For a baseball player, it's the equivalent of food stamps. Still, for such a slave-wage salary, Marcum has sure performed for the Blue Jays. The 26-year-old righty leads the American League in both ERA (2.43) and WHIP (0.99) and has surrendered a paltry five earned runs over his last four starts.

Too bad for Marcum, he can't get any support from his teammates. He's managed three consecutive quality starts without gaining a decision.

In his last outing on Wednesday, the bats fell silent and the Jays lost 2-1 at Seattle. Against the Orioles on June 6, Marcum threw seven shutout innings only to watch the relievers blow his effort in less time than it takes to warm up the shower. Baltimore scored six in the top of the eighth and Toronto lost 6-5.

"I'm sure it will even up," Marcum, ever the consummate teammate, said last week. "There are times when I'm going to go out there and give up six or seven and the guys will bail me out, so it balances itself out. I'm not here for personal wins. I'm not trying to win 20. I'm just going to go out there and give our team a chance to win."

Marcum's next chance for a win will come on Wednesday in Milwaukee.

No Tiger, No Problem

OK, you're probably not going to see the same level of excitement at this week's stop on the PGA Tour. However, the 2008 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., still features plenty of big names in the field.

Vijay Singh, Fred Funk, Chris DiMarco, Boo Weekley, J.B. Holmes, Bubba Watson and Woody Austin, the 2004 winner, are all confirmed, as is defending champion Hunter Mahan. And while they might not be big names, Ryuji Imada, Johnson Wagner, Brian Gay and D.J. Trahan are all set to tee it up after winning tournaments earlier this season.