LOS ANGELES — If the Lakers had lost Game 6, the line for scapegoats would have started with Ron Artest and worked its way over to Lamar Odom.

They didn’t lose, obviously, and Odom and Artest were two of the biggest reasons why they were able to force a seventh game. Artest scored 15 points and had his best shooting night of the series, while Odom added eight points and 10 rebounds playing major minutes for the injured Andrew Bynum.

“Well, [Artest] made a shot,” Phil Jackson said. “It’s always great to make a shot when you’ve been struggling. It was good to see that ball go in, but we tried to simplify things for him tonight.”

Artest made good use of the corner 3-pointer and the Celtics gave him ample room to get his shot off. Even for a player as mercurial as Artest, they can’t afford to give him that much space.

Odom, meanwhile, may have to do even more in Game 7. Jackson pulled Bynum after just two minutes of the second half and he never returned. Odom has been battling the flu and Jackson was concerned about his energy, but he was able to play almost 30 minutes.