It is not hyperbole to say that last night changed the landscape of the NBA for the next decade.
The Celtics finished off LeBron James and the Cavs in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, 94-85 at the TD Garden. Boston won the series 4-2 and moves on to face Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals beginning Sunday afternoon.
They also ensured that LeBron will likely leave Cleveland when he becomes a free agent on July 1, which means their franchise will go straight down the tube. The Cavs had a press conference today to say that they'll stick with head coach Mike Brown but as bad as he is, what does it matter if LeBron is gone?
Rajon Rondo-the unofficial MVP of the series-had one more fine performance with 21 points, 12 assists, five steals and three rebounds.
The other revelation in the shockingly easy series win was Kevin Garnett. He saved his best game for last night with 22 points and 13 rebounds. He started the game 5-for-5 and also had a dunk as nobody on Cleveland could matchup with him.
For his final game in a Cavs uniform, LeBron had a triple-double: 27 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists. If it's possible to have a quiet triple-double this was it; he also had nine turnovers.
Mo Williams finished with 22 points but the Celts held him to two points in the second half. Shaq scored 11 but he was Cleveland's only other player in double figures.
Paul Pierce and Rasheed Wallace had 13 points while Tony Allen scored 10, including a vicious dunk over Antawn Jamison.
The Magic haven't lost a playoff game yet, after sweeping the Bobcats and the Hawks. Overall, they've won 14 games in a row. Last season, Boston was up 3-2 on them in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season before choking and lost in seven games without Garnett.
It has all the makings of a great series and at this point, we're playing with house money and anything can happen. Nobody expected them to be here but if they can beat Orlando-the best team in the NBA-they're going to win it all.
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