Before tonight's game I had to sandwich a viewing of M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening" in between work and the Celtics game.   Really nothing more than having to keep the wife happy while she endures the tail-end of the NBA season.  My initial reaction to the movie was that.... wait, what's that?  You couldn't give two craps about that movie right now?  You just wanna hear about the Celtics game?  Let's just right in then, shall we?

 Quarter 1

11:46: Perkins is in the starting lineup.  We need him to be big, burly and bang down low.  What we don't need is him getting himself into all kinds of foul trouble and taking away our strength advantage.  Shockingly, he immediately gets called for a foul. Weird.

11:40: Kobe knocks down a long 2 – first points of the game

11:01: Rondo wrestles and offensive board away from Gasol and nearly does it again to Odom. 

10:18: Rondo swipes the ball from Gasol, takes it full court and finds Ray set up for 3 in transition. Rondo was pretty ineffective out in LA, to the point where he was barely on the court, so we really need him to step it up – BOS 3 – LA 4

9:13: KG tips an offensive rebound to Rondo under the rim who gets the foul and goes to the line for 2. He knocks down both to tie it at 7.

9:03: Kobe knocks down his second 3 and has 8 of LA’s first 10 points.  His shot is looking deadly tonight.  If we can't derail him early, it could be trouble.

8:30: Gasol pass underneath stolen by Rondo -- he's been everywhere so far!

7:25: Rondo with another! steal under the basket – knocking away a behind the back pass from Kobe

Rondo has been the aggressor tonight – his shot isn’t falling, but he’s finding other ways to be effective, which is what we need from him. He doesn't need to get us points, but he does need to come away with some loose balls, play solid D, pull down some rebounds and get the ball to his open teammates.

5:58: Rondo finally knocks down a corner jumper to put Boston up 12-10

5:28: Kobe hits his third three to put LA back up by 1 – he has 11 of LA’s first 13 points and is just looking like he's not going to be denied tonight.  This one has the makings of a dogfight. 

Rondo is 1-5 (most FGs from Boston so far), he's not reluctant to shoot at all, which normally would be good,  but tonight he if pretty off.  On the plus side, he has 3 steals already

Boston is only 3-15 from the field so far, but still managing to stay within 1

4:20: Lamar Odom claws Ray Allen’s face as he goes for a layup, no call, but Perkins barely bumps Odom under the hoop and Lamar is shooting two (as Ray runs back to the lockerroom to get his face looked at). Perk heads to the bench while Doc wonders what exactly constitutes as a foul.

2:50: KG is living up to his word and is playing outstanding basketball right now. He’s been aggressive with the ball and has 8 points. BOS 20 – LA 18

2:35: Rondo forces his 4^th steal of the game – but Boston can’t convert the layup on the other end

2:03: Pierce misses another 3 – he’s 0-5 to begin the game.  You have to wonder if all the effort he's put forth in LA is finally taking a toll on his body.  A man can only give 100% for so long...

1:44: KG with a beautiful alley-oop from PJ off a nice Pierce screen giving Boston a 22-18 lead – we also just learned that Allen was poked in the eye and scratched on the nose – but he will be back

.48: Rondo called for his second foul on a phantom reach… Stern’s zebra army are doing their part tonight to extend this series to 7.

.37: Pierce knocks down his first FG of the game – BOS 24 – LA 20

End of first quarter: BOS 24 – LA 20

Rondo has been amazing (even if he can’t hit a shot) causing all sorts of havoc, coming up with looses balls, knocking away passes and pulling down rebounds. KG is fired up and taking it to Gasol. Pierce’s shot was suspect but starting to fall. Ray Allen had 8 points before he got mauled. Kobe is the only Laker who looks competent right now. Feeling good… really good.  Tonight might be the night.

Quarter 2

11:17: Kobe traveled about 9 times trying to get a shot off over Posey (who had Kobe absolutely smothered). Going for the defensive rebound were 3 Celtics and 1 Laker, Turiaf.  Guess who got called for a loose ball foul… disgusting.

11:02: Kobe was dribbling about 3 feet behind the 3 point line, Powe met him on a switch, Kobe gave him a stiff arm and Powe got called for a foul. I’m about to have an aneurysm… and yes, Boston is still up.

10:37: Eddie knocks down his first shot on an open long-range 2

9:57: Doc just got called for a technical shouting at Crawford for not calling a foul on Kobe who basically wrapped up Eddie House as he was running past him after setting a screen for Pierce.  It was really just the straw that broke the camel's back as the officiating has just been an embarrassment thus far.

9:51: Pierce answers with a 3, giving Boson a 29-24 lead

9:30: They actually just called a foul on LA… their first of the quarter.

13-5 FT differential right now, if you're interested in those sorts of things... and by the fact that you're still reading, I'm assuming you are.

6:59: Boston's Glen Davis gets mauled going for shot (no call), Boston grabbed a bunch of offensive boards and finally connected with Posey on corner 3.  BOS 35 - LA 29

6:32: House just hits another corner 3 in transition from a deflected Lakers pass – Boston up 9

We’ve grabbed 8 offensive boards so far, and caused 7 turnovers. We are the hungrier team right now.

6:05: ...And sprinting back to the court comes Ray Allen – love watching a player rush out and hear the crowd slowly roar as the all realize what’s going on.  Already having the momentum, this may just put us over the top.

5:29: Another Posey 3 (giving Boston 42 – 29 lead) in transition – Pierce poked the ball away from Kobe who’s just dribbling way too much trying to do it all himself. No ball movement by the Lakers at all.  Boston is on an 11-0 run.

4:44: Ray Allen comes back in the game!!

3:48: Pierce on the line – crowd chanting “MVP”

2:59: C’s take a 15 point lead on some Pierce FTs

2:00: KG knocks down a fallaway jumper with about 8 Lakers charging at him – BOS 51 LA 35

1:13: Rondo fakes a pass underneath to Perk, freezes the D then drops the shot in, BOS 53 – LA 35

.47: Pierce splits the D with a nifty bounce-pass to KG who levitates, Odom body checks him mid-air, KG keeps hanging, then one-hands the ball off the backboard and banks it home. He hits the FT giving Boston a 21 point lead

.23: Perk blocks an Odom layup attempt on D, then gets rewarded with a pass under the hoop from KG, BOS 58 – 35

Halftime: 58-35. Boston finishes the half on a 26-6 run. They are in complete control. KG has elevated his game to Pierce’s level with 17 points. Paul has 9 assists so far. LA is trying to shut him down and he’s finding his teammates to make LA pay. Rondo is still active all over the court. Posey played tremendous defense on Kobe while Ray was on he bench. We’re dominating the boards, and Kobe is trying to beat us single-handedly but just can’t do it. We’ve forced 11 turnovers, most on deflected passes or just flat-out steals. In fact, we had more steals (9) than Lakers had made field goals. I think tonight is theeeee night!

Quarter 3

11:44: Rondo knocks down a corner jumper for the first points of the half.

10:51: Rondo cut to the hoops, took the handoff from KG, drew in the defense and found Ray behind the arc for 3 – BOS 63 – LA 36

9:52: Perk just headed back to the bench with his 5^th foul… just one of those nights for Perk where he couldn’t stay on the court.  That's ok though... valiant effort playing tonight with the messed up shoulder.  And yes, I'd probably be cursing him right now if the score was reversed.

9:41: LA has reverted to the ol’ half-court trap, which we easily break. There have been too many crazy momentum/point swings in this series to feel too comfortable right now, but we’re looking poised.

8:48: Rondo takes the inbounds pass coast-to-coast and made a nice scoop layup drawing the foul from Bryant (and makes the FT). It feels great to see Rondo back to playing at this elite level…. Too bad he can’t do it on the road. BOS 70 – LA 46

7:45: Rondo gets his 5^th steal of the game, ripping the ball away from a driving Odom – he then finds Allen open in the corner for another transition 3. As Mike Breen just stated, “Celtics embarrassing the Lakers”.

5:57: PJ Brown gives Boston a 31 point lead on a pair of free throws. What a dominating performance.

4:03: Pierce just snagged Boston’s 13^th steal on another terrible Laker pass. Finally, up by a large margin, we’re not playing the score, we’re playing to put the Lakers away. Finally.

2:31: Rondo with his 6^th steal of the game, swiping the ball from Bryant. He’s just been a hero tonight. BOS 85 – LA 54

End of Quarter 3: I don’t want to say this game is in the bag yet… but this game is in the bag. PJ Brown closed out the quarter by rejecting a Kobe layup attempt and knocking down a jumper on the other end. 89- 60.  LA is deflated, our defense is far too effective for them to even attempt a comeback, and our offense, no matter who's on the court, is finding ways to get easy buckets.  If we can keep this up, this will go down as one of the most dominating finals performances in NBA history.

Quarter 4

11:36: Rondo with another layup for his 18^th point of the night. I hope tonight he’s showing flashes of what he’ll become on a consistent basis.  If so, this young man is going to have himself a whole hand full of rings.

10:44: Rondo knocks down his 20^th point on a wide-open dunk. The previous play he tripped over the camera row which left him far behind the rest of the play. Vujacic turned the ball over on another terrible Laker pass intercepted by PJ who threw a touchdown pass to Rondo for the dunk. Farmar was trying to run down Rondo and took out his legs, slamming our little man to the ground for a flagrant. Rondo knocked down the technical free throw.

10:07: Ray Allen hits a wide-open corner 3 maintaining Boston’s 30 point lead 98 – 68.

9:30: Boston up by 28 with 9 minutes to go, the crowd is rightfully chanting, “Where Is Kobe?” Tremendous job by the crowd tonight.

9:17: Ray Allen knocks down another 3 to put Boston over the century mark, giving him 20 points tonight. I just can’t believe how well we’re playing and how hard we’re closing this series out.

8:41: R:ay Allen with ANOTHER 3!! BOS 104 – LA 70

7:10: Rondo comes out of the game to a standing ovation.  I hope we lock him up long-term after this season is over. 

5:21: Ray Allen hits his 7^th three pointer of the game, which is an NBA Finals record.

4:53: Pierce knocks down a three putting Boston up 116 – 79.

4:01: Doc pulls the Big 3 out of the game together to another standing ovation. Pierce and KG hug Doc as they exit the court.

What?! No, those aren’t tears… they’re, they’re, I’m sweating. Yeah, lots and lots of sweat.  Man, that's a lot of sweat... pouring out of my eyes.  Weird.

2:33: Posey hits a 3 to put Boston up by 38, 123-85

2:07: Not much in life is as enjoyable as watching your team smiling, laughing and celebrating on the sidelines as the clock is winding down to their inevitable championship.  Just a great group of guys to root for.  It's been a pleasure all year long.

1:22: Eddie House just threw up an alley-oop that was put down with a reverse dunk by Tony Allen. Impressive.

We Won!! We Won!! The Boston Celtics are your 2008 NBA Champions!!!

Aftermath highlights: Pierce pouring red Gatorade on Doc Rivers with 30 seconds left on the clock. KG bawling during his post-game interview, shouting, “Anything is possible!!!” then saying he’s “On Top of the World!” and then going and hugging Bill Russell telling him “I got my own! I got my own! I hope I made you proud!”.

It's incredibly sweaty in my apartment tonight. Someone needs to turn that thermostat down!

Wyc jumping onto the podium after being handed the O’Brien trophy. Wyc then saying, “this win is for Red Auerbach”. Doc getting a roaring ovation as Stuart Scott called him to the podium. Stuart asked him what he told his team during their first practice.  He said, "If you commit yourself to defense, you'll win a championship."  The crowd immediately starts a “Defense!” chant.  Nicely done, Boston.  Paul Pierce getting the MVP award, then saying, “I know we didn’t have a lot of great years, but you guys stuck with me…”. What a whirlwind of a night.

MVC: Paul Pierce.  From his Game 1 heroics all the way through his Game 6 defense and unselfishness, Paul has been the one guy who's carried the team on his back.  And there isn't another guy in green who deserves this more.  I think now we can officially lay the, "Does Paul Pierce get his #34 retired once he retires" argument to bed.  I just hope I'm there for the ceremony.

BOXSCORE

I'm going to give you a season recap within the next day or two... I'm just way too excited and full of adrenaline to sit here and write about what this means right now -- you've probably picked up on that from the steady deterioration of this post. 

Lastly, I just want to apologize to Doc Rivers for all the horrible things I've said about him.  You did it, Doc.  And you did it by coaching the hell out of a 9-time champion.  No one, not even us fickle bloggers, will ever be able to take that away from you.  We've been calling for your head for some time now, and you've been calling for some talent.  Well, you got it and you earned it. Amazing job, Doc.  And, no, this doesn't mean I won't be critical of you in the future... but right now, you're an NBA freakin' Champion!!

I know that wherever you are right now, Red, you've got the biggest plume of smoke from your victory cigar circling your head.  This one's for you!!