I've spent a good deal of time working with calculators and abacuses and other mathematical instruments to create an equation which best sums up Boston's Game 7 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.  After much research and deliberation I have found it:

Paul Pierce > LeBron James = Bring On Detroit!

It was that simple... Paul Pierce summoned his inner Larry Bird and unleashed his best game for when his team needed him most.  Single-handedly, Pierce brought down LeBron James and his roving band of Cavaliers.  It was a grueling matchup that went down to the final minute, but when an errant Paul Pierce free throw found its way to the bottom of the net (perhaps with the help of Arnold Auerbach), Boston took a huge collective sigh of relief.

Game 7 was truly a story of two men, neither of which wanted to go home.  LeBron James, who has had to do it on his own seemingly every night, and Paul Pierce, who's surrounded by a well-constructed team.  The LeBron story we know.  His team puts the ball in his hands and clears out.  As his shots hit or miss, so do his team's chances of winning.  It's this alpha-male Paul Pierce, who once owned the parquet floor, that we hadn't seen in Boston since KG and Ray Allen came to town.  Neither man was going to be denied, but where LeBron's supporting cast missed a couple key buckets down the stretch, Pierce's guys stepped up.

Both men's numbers were pretty similar.

LeBron: 45 points (14-29 FG, 3-11 3pt, 14-19 FT) 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers
Pierce: 41 points (13-23 FG, 4-6 3pt, 11-12 FT) 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers

The difference was in efficiency.  Whereas LeBron had no choice but to take some ill-advised shots and contested 3's, Pierce was able to defer to his teammates when he didn't get a good look.   This is why one man will never beat a team.

The rest of the Celtics did their best Cavs impression, stepping aside and letting The Truth take care of the offense.  PJ Brown came up huge with 10 points (4-4 shooting) and 6 rebounds in 20 minutes.  Doc kept him on the floor for the final minutes of the game (leaving Perk on the bench), and PJ rewarded him knocking down a clutch jumper in the final minutes.  Garnett couldn't get his offense going tonight (13 points on 5-13), but he was great on the defensive end, and played large around the rim, snagging 13 rebounds and snagging a nice steal on Wally Szczerbiak that lead to a fast break.  Rondo had his confidence back, played amazing defense and played under control, scoring 8 points with 8 rebounds and 8 assists. 

The other Celtic who had a huge impact on the game was BostonSportZ.com's main man, Eddie House.  If only Doc would've played him earlier, we might not have needed a game 7.  Eddie's numbers weren't great.  He only scored 4 points on 1-5 shooting, but his defense was stellar and he lead all players with a +/- score of +13.   Eddie also had the play of the game.  Roving around on defense, he caused Cleveland to throw an errant pass to the top of the key that bounced down the court.  House, not to be denied, sprinted down the court and dove for the ball, snagging it just before it went out of bounds under the hoop.  From the ground, he quickly tossed the ball up to a trailing James Posey who was immediately fouled and got to the line.  It was an amazing hustle play, and it ignited not only the crowd, but his team as well. 

BOXSCORE 

MVC:  Paul Pierce, as if there was any doubt.  Boston's biggest plague has been their inability to find somebody to step up and take over the game.  Tonight, Paul did just that.  Historically, he's had some of his worst games being covered by LeBron, but tonight it didn't matter.  Doc put the ball in Pierce's hands, let him dribble off of  some beautifully set screens, freeing him from LeBron, and let Pierce exploit his mismatch.  Or, he just took LeBron off the dribble and pulled up for his killer mid-range J.  In the first half alone, Paul had outscored the rest of the Celtics, 26-24, and the best part about his performance is that he didn't let up on D.  He got banged around a bit, so I'm a little worried his he's going to be feeling on Tuesday, but for one night at least, old school Killer Paul Pierce was in the Garden.  Couldn't have come at a better time.

Just a couple of other things to take note here.  First, Let's hope Doc finally has it right.  He trimmed his rotation down to 9 men, left Cassell and Davis on the bench, kept House in the game and played Posey nearly as many minutes as Ray Allen.  Second, Ray Allen needs to find his shot or Doc needs to do what he did tonight and leave Posey on the floor in his place.  Ray notched only 4 points on 1-6 from the floor, missing two WIDE OPEN 3 point attempts.  I don't know if it's that his legs are dying on him, if his confidence is shot or the fact that Doc never quite figured out how to play him, but Ray is looking really really bad out there.  I find it hard to believe that a player who averaged 26 PPG last season can't at least play competent offense in these playoffs.  He's a one-dimensional player, and if he's not going to bring his scoring, let's let Posey's D and hustle get his minutes.  Detroit's no joke.  We need to bring our A games to the Eastern Finals.

Lastly, I just want to say what an amazing ride this post season has been already.  There is no reason that either of these series should've gone to Game 7, but we've been witness to some pretty great games and some pretty stellar performances, and some pretty atrocious coaching.  It may have taken 14 games, but let's hope Doc has figured this team out, and realizes there's a reason we won 66 games this season and we stick with what got us here.  Enjoy this one Boston,  we host Detroit on Tuesday.