LOS ANGELES — If any civic leaders in Boston are reading this, I have just one thing to say: Get the duck boats ready.

No, the Celtics did not clinch the title on Sunday, losing Game 5 of the NBA Finals to the Lakers, 103-98, but the celebration was merely delayed, not denied. Although the Lakers were able to stave off elimination for a night, they did little to dent the notion that Boston is the superior team and will close things out on its home court in tonight’s Game 6 — leading, of course, to the increasingly familiar ritual of a championship team on duck boats parading through Boston’s streets later this week.

Even in winning Game 5, the Lakers showed numerous warts — most notably a jarring inability to preserve a lead. One game after they’d blown a 24-point edge in dropping Game 4, they nearly gave an encore performance. The Lakers led by 19 early in the second quarter and lost it all, then opened up a 14-point edge in the fourth quarter, only to see it erased in less than five minutes. For good measure, L.A. nearly punted a six-point edge in the last 16 seconds.

Mentally, the Lakers were midgets in this one. Countless silly fouls allowed Boston to make its comeback in the fourth, most notably a brain-dead reach-in by Luke Walton against Paul Pierce at half-court, and over-the-back fouls by both Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom after missed Lakers shots. Since the Celtics were in the bonus, all three put Boston on the line on plays where the team was on the wrong side of half-court.

Speaking of mental midgets, the coaching game isn’t going the way the Lakers expected either. Coming into the finals, nine-time champion Phil Jackson was supposed to have a massive advantage over Boston’s Doc Rivers, but it hasn’t worked out that way. Rivers has pushed all the right buttons in this series, while Jackson has made some bizarre errors.

The most obvious one from Game 5 was his puzzling insertion of Chris Mihm into the rotation instead of usual backup center Ronny Turiaf. Mihm made an awful turnover in the backcourt, shot an air ball, and committed two fouls in a three-minute stint, igniting a 15-0 Boston run that got the Celtics back in the game after they trailed by 19 early in the second quarter.

And how about the Lakers’ other alleged big advantage — having the league MVP? Pierce owned Bryant in Game 5, with the two All-Stars going head-to-head for most of the game and Pierce torching L.A. for 38 points. Yes, Bryant had 25 of his own, including the two biggest on a steal from Pierce and a lay-in in the final minute. But he vanished for much of the final three quarters. With Pierce having two other All-Stars at his side, that outcome is unacceptable for L.A. — Bryant has to win this matchup convincingly.

With all that said, it’s hard to remember that the Lakers did, in fact, win the game. L.A.’s M.I.A. frontcourt was the key, as Odom and Gasol rediscovered their spines and combined for 39 points and 24 rebounds.

The timing of that was no accident. Boston was missing center Kendrick Perkins, who reinjured his problematic left shoulder and probably won’t play again this series. Perkins is a physical beast who routinely outmuscled the slender Gasol and Odom, and his absence was notable — Sunday’s second half was the first time all series that L.A. was the scrappier, more physical team.

And that points to a larger issue that may be L.A.’s best chance of becoming the first team in history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in an NBA Finals: the war of attrition. While L.A.’s squad is in near-perfect health, the Celtics are a walking MASH unit.

Of Boston’s five starters, Kevin Garnett is the only one guaranteed to be at full strength for Game 6. Pierce, of course, suffered a knee strain in Game 1 that was never fully diagnosed — he refused an MRI because he didn’t want to know had bad the damage was. While he’s been fantastic ever since his Game 1 Willis Reed routine, one has to acknowledge the chance of a reinjury knocking him out for good.

Another starter, point guard Rajon Rondo, sprained his ankle in Game 3 and has been limited ever since. On Sunday he seemed to be moving a little better, but his play still suffered. He played only 14 minutes and shot 1-for-7 from the field with two turnovers, with Eddie House and Sam Cassell playing the bulk of the point guard minutes.

Finally, there’s yet another starter, Ray Allen, who has an issue. Allen dressed at warp speed and immediately left the arena after Game 5, tending to an undisclosed health issue with one of his children. One presumes it won’t keep him out for tonight, but without knowing any other details it’s tough to say so with certainty.

That said, it would be nice if the Lakers had more to hang their hat on than the fact that players on the other team keep getting injured. In particular, it would behoove L.A. to find some better answers at the defensive end. Pierce repeatedly carved them up with a high pick-and-roll, and Rivers’s heavy use of floor-spacing shooters such as House and James Posey has given the Lakers fits on D. After five games, L.A. has shown little evidence that it’s capable of finding an answer.

Additionally, Boston has a few wrinkles it can add that weren’t on display in Game 5. Leon Powe replaced Perkins as a starter and did little, but Rivers may change directions tonight. He can go with veteran P.J. Brown or even turn to little-used rookie Glen “Big Baby” Davis to get another physical enforcer on the court in pace of Perkins. Additionally, Garnett was in foul trouble much of the night and only played 33 minutes, an occurrence unlikely to repeat itself tonight.

All those would be reasons to bet on Boston even if the game were held at a neutral court. With the sixth game moving back to Boston’s raucous TD Banknorth Garden, it would be downright delusional to bank on the Lakers extending the series for another game, let alone getting the two wins they’d need to take the title.

Yes, the possibility of a 40- or 50-point explosion by Bryant can never be ruled out, and the stockpile of Boston injuries is worrisome. But tonight’s game has the feeling of a coronation — one that will cap the greatest one-year turnaround in league history and put the exclamation point on Garnett’s Hall of Fame career. So get those boats ready, Boston — you’re gonna need ’em.

jhollinger@nysun.com