"Early in the deciding game of the NBA Finals, Rasheed Wallace made everyone forget about his fallen teammate, Kendrick Perkins.

The oft-criticized big man was shooting often and with conviction, scoring six first-half points and grabbing four key rebounds as Boston jumped to a 40-34 halftime lead.

Wallace kissed the glass so often, it's a surprise his lips weren't chapped.

If only the romance could have lasted longer.

Wallace got into late foul trouble, ultimately fouling out with 25 seconds left in what could be his final game.

"He was a warrior," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "I don't know if Rasheed will ever play again. I think he took that out on the floor with him. I think he is thinking about retiring, and I thought you could see that in his play. He was dying out there."

With Wallace in foul trouble, the pressure was placed squarely on Glen "Big Baby" Davis' hulking shoulders.

Davis finished with nine rebounds in just more than 20 minutes, but finished with just six points.

Perkins, one of the premier low-post defenders in the game, was particularly missed down the stretch, as the Lakers' frontcourt took over.

"We had to go away from the post almost because of fatigue," Rivers said. "You know, it's the first time all year that you can actually say at the end of the day we were old."

Saying goodbye?

With his son, Austin, a prized recruit entering his senior season, Rivers has hinted that this might be his last season in Boston.

"I can't reflect on it right now," Rivers said. "Probably in a week or so, I'll go hide somewhere for a while. But you know, it was the craziest, most emotional group I've ever coached in my life. I told them, they made me reach to places that I never thought I needed to go, I had to go.""