Gasol vows to be more aggressive against the Celtics

By Steve Ginsburg

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pau Gasol vowed to be more aggressive when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Boston Celtics in what could be the deciding game of the NBA Finals on Sunday.

With the Celtics holding a 3-1 edge and looking to close out the best-of-seven series, there is no margin for error for Gasol's Lakers.

"I'll try to be as aggressive as I can, offensively and defensively," Gasol told reporters on Saturday.

"I've tried to do a good job defensively on (Celtics forward Kevin) Garnett all series long but I'll try to be a little more assertive on offense, if I get the chance."

Despite averaging 14.5 points in the series, Gasol has been admonished by the media, and even the fans at the Staples Center, for being too passive on both ends of the floor.

The 27-year-old center insists he is not listening.

"I haven't heard or read any criticism," the Spaniard said. "I don't pay attention to what the media says. I don't watch TV.

"I've just focused on watching the video of our game because that's painful enough, especially that second half."

The Lakers will try to re-group from Thursday's embarrassing collapse in Game Four when they blew a 24-point lead and lost to the Celtics 97-91 before 19,000 at the Staples Center.

Gasol said the Lakers would play "with a sense of urgency."

"We need to come out really aggressive with that life-and-death kind of feeling," he said. "That should make us play harder and with more energy.

"It's tough in an NBA Final to be up 24 points at home and give the game away. Obviously, the Celtics did stuff well. But we're at home. We're supposed to protect our home court.

"It was a tough one. Especially in the NBA Finals when everything is multiplied by 100.

"The only way we can get over that disappointment is to come out hard tomorrow, come out as a unit and fight every possession, every ball."

(Editing by John Mehaffey)