"Anything Is Possible!"

For all intents and purposes, my life as a Boston sports fan will never get better than this.

The Red Sox (twice), Patriots (three times) and now Celtics have all won titles in the last six years, coincidentally the perfect time for me as I've appreciated each title more as I get older and realize this time is fleeting, no matter how sweet.

Moving back home from college and being single with a job at night has allowed me to soak this up probably more than I will ever in the future when hopefully marriage, kids and a more time-consuming job take over my life.

In its 26th postseason game of the year (an NBA record), the Celtics completely embarrassed the Lakers, 131-92, in game 6 of the NBA Finals at the TD Banknorth Garden.

The Celts won their first championship since the glory days of 1986. It's the franchise's 17th title.

The Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen fittingly played their best game of the season while their teammates weren't too shabby either, putting up a season-high for points.

After such a disappointing game 5 performance, KG had a legendary showing that should silence his critics forever. He scored 26 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, dished out four assists and had three steals. He came out on fire with 17 in the first half as Boston left little doubt that the soft Lakers would not win one (let alone two in a row) back in Boston.

Despite playing on little rest (since he'd spent time with his son in an LA hospital), Ray Allen scored 26 points with four rebounds and three steals. Ray was 7 of 9 on 3-pointers (tying a Finals record), a great ending for a guy that really found himself at the end of the Detroit series and in the Finals.

No surprise with the win that Pierce was named Finals MVP. The 10-year veteran with the C's scored 17 points and dished out 10 assists. He outplayed Kobe Bryant (22 points on 7 of 22 shooting with 1 assist and 4 turnovers)-who many think is the best player in the world-by so much in this series, it's almost surreal.

With the series over, it's clear that the three biggest things that seperate the Celtics from the Lakers (and which countless experts failed to see before the series) was 1) defense, 2) teamwork and 3) toughness.

The C's set another Finals record with 18 steals for the game while also outrebounding LA, 48-29.

Rajon Rondo picked a fine time to have one last amazing performance as he had 21 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and six steals. Kendrick Perkins only had two points and four rebounds in 13 minutes but the grit he showed by playing through pain was inspirational to his teammates and the appreciative home crowd.

James Posey had another sick game with 11 points, three rebounds and three steals. Eddie House had nine points and five assists. P.J. Brown posted six points, three boards and two assists while Leon Powe notched eight points and four rebounds. All 11 Celtics that played scored, Big Baby saw his first action of the series and gave the C's three points and four rebounds. Even Tony Allen got a highlight as he threw down a ridiculous reverse alley-oop in the fourth quarter.

In the first quarter, it seemed like the refs (a source of constant chatter during the playoffs) were doing their best to get the Lakers to a game 7. Boston couldn't hit a shot in the first quarter but their hustle for loose balls and knack for making the extra pass paid off as the Celts led 24-20 after one.

The Lakers began to pack for their flight home in the second quarter as Boston blitzed them with a 34-15 frame.

Another difference between the teams is that the Celts could make big comebacks in LA, the same wasn't true for the Lakers last night (and yes I remember they almost came back in game 2).

LA and Phil Jackson were exposed for the frauds that they were. And the highly-touted Western Conference was a deeper league this season but can we agree that Boston and Detroit were the best teams? Is there any doubt the Pistons would have similarly disposed of the Lakers in six or seven games?

The third and fourth quarters were something for the soon-to-be-released Celtics championship DVD's. They couldn't miss. Boston took the third 31-25 and put up a ridiculous 42-32 final quarter of the season.

Boston made 49.4% from the floor and 13 of 26 on 3-pointers. They made 32 of 27 free throws and handed out 33 assists. They had just seven turnovers in as flawless a performance as you could ever dream about on such a big stage.

The Lakers shot 42.2% from the field and 10 of 27 on threes. They had a pathetic two offensive rebounds (Boston notched 14) and 16 assists. Los Angeles turned it over 19 times.

I feel immensely lucky to have seen such a great team all season long. Three All-Stars put their egos aside and reached their ultimate goal (in the first year) that they'd all missed by themselves. Doc Rivers showed that he's a good NBA coach. P.J. Brown came back late in the season and won his first ring in 15 NBA seasons. Eddie House and James Posey brought energy and hustle night in and night out while Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins showed how much game they have. Leon Powe, Big Baby and Tony Allen each had their moments too. You can't say Sam Cassell really did much positive after coming to Boston but it's nice to see a guy who'll probably retire get another ring.

With Andrew Bynum healthy next season, the Lakers could very well find themselves back in the Finals. I really believe that the C's have a window of two or three more seasons where they'll be in the mix as well. They have to re-sign Posey and Powe but I wouldn't count out Pierce, Garnett and Allen in the next few seasons. What better way to cement their legacies in the game than with another championship or two?

The Celtics' parade will be tomorrow in Boston, complete with Duck Boats and a ceremony at Copley Plaza. Winning championships will never get old; these are the golden days of Boston sports that we'll talk about for the rest of our lives. The Bruins might as well move since they're never going to join the fun (without dumping Uncle Scrooge, I mean owner Jeremy Jacobs).

Where were you when the Lakers submitted one of the great choke jobs in sports history?

Down 24 points on the road in the first quarter and 18 at the half, the Boston Celtics looked dead in the water in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at the Staples Center last night.

The horrific start by the Green only sweetened the win as the Celtics outscored the Lakers, 57-33 in the second half to take the game, 97-91.

Boston now leads the series 3-1 with Game 5 on Father's Day (Sunday) back at the Staples Center.

It was a hallmark win that will be talked about forever (assuming Boston can win one of the next three games).

Both teams had five players score in double figures but the Celtics were the ones stepping up in the third and fourth quarter. Front-running LA resembled the team that dominated the Western Conference playoffs in the first half as their passing was crisp and everyone was hitting their shots. But when things started to fall apart in the second half, not even Kobe Bryant (17 points on 6 of 19 shooting, 10 assists and 4 steals) could save them.

Paul Pierce shook off another slow start to finish with a game-high 20 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Ray Allen (who has been Boston's most consistent player through the first four games) had 19 points, nine rebounds and three steals. James Posey had 18 points and Kevin Garnett totalled 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Lamar Odom came out on fire (making his first five shots) and finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Pau Gasol had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Derek Fisher had 13 points and Vladimir Radmanovic added 10 points.

Everything went the Lakers' way in the first half, including a traveling, buzzer-beating 3-pointer by guard Jordan Farmar to end the second quarter.
Boston couldn't possibly play worse as they were down 35-14 after one (the NBA record for biggest deficit in a Finals game after one quarter) and 58-40 at the break.

The story of the game so paralleled the setting, it was uncanny. The flashy Lakers came out and played their best basketball of the series for two quarters. Their botox-injected, clueless millionaire fans cheered (most likely cause the scoreboard told them to) and all was right in Tinseltown. However, like a bad movie (which Hollywood has been known to turn out from time to time), Los Angeles completely unraveled in the second half.

Phil Jackson-the slobbered over coach-was outclassed by Doc Rivers (HA!). Rivers chose to space the floor with a small, shooting lineup and LA never really adjusted. Eddie House (11 points, 4 rebounds in 25 minutes) played most of the second half as Rajon Rondo (5 points, 2 assists in 17 minutes) was clearly not himself with his ankle injury. Kendrick Perkins popped his shoulder out of its socket in the third quarter and didn't return.

A 21-3 Celtics run cut it to 73-71 going into the fourth. By then, Los Angeles had fell apart as all their finesse, offensive-minded clowns shied away from the moment. Sure Kobe had no hesitation to take the tough shot but on this night, it wasn't falling for the Black Mamba.

House's jumper gave Boston its first lead of the night with four minutes left and the Celtics never looked back. Pierce made key free throws, Posey hit a 3-pointer, Ray collected an offensive rebound (along with two clutch hoops) and Garnett had a great assist to House.

The Celtics are a better TEAM, one who thrives on the defensive end and that's why they find themselves one win away from a championship.

There are two days off between games as Game 5 won't happen until Sunday night but you can't underestimate the psychological damage of the loss on LA. They are a team that had seemingly come into its own during the second half of the year and one that wasn't tested much throughout the playoffs. The Celtics stumbled big time coming out of the gates in the playoffs but seemed to have found their rhythm in the Detroit series and carried it over to the Finals.

The close-out game is always the toughest but I like the Celtics' chances of winning one more game out of a possible three (with two if necessary at home).

Don't try to explain it, just be happy they're moving on

In what will go down as one of the most lopsided game seven's of all-time, the Boston Celtics took out three losses worth of frustration on the Atlanta Hawks yesterday at the Garden, winning 99-65 to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cavs.

Doc Rivers (who had never made it out of the first round as a coach), Paul Pierce (who had another meltdown in game 6) and KG (who has only made it out of the first round once) were all spared what would have been a brutal off-season of questions if a 66-win team choked in the first round to a bad team.

The game was never really in doubt as Boston led 44-26 at halftime and by as much as 38 points in the third quarter. Atlanta never showed up (yesterday or in any of the games in Boston). And that ends one of the strangest playoff series' you'll ever see. No road wins for either team and the C's dominated every home game, winning by 19+ each time.

Five Celts scored in double figures, led by Paul Pierce (22 points). Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 11 boards. Kendrick Perkins was a force defensively with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Rajon Rondo had 10 points and six assists while Leon Powe had 12 points off the bench.

Ray Allen struggled all game, shooting 3 of 12 for seven points but nobody noticed.

Joe Johnson was the only Hawk over ten points with 16. Salim Stoudamire had 10 in extended garbage time and Al Horford ended his fine rookie season with eight points and ten rebounds. Mike Bibby (who couldn't play worse in Boston if he tried) had two points, four rebounds and two assists.

Marvin Williams almost killed Rondo with a hard foul in the third quarter. Rondo went in for a layup and Williams grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed. The two are supposedly friends and luckily Rondo was fine but it could have been a disaster. Williams got a Type-2 flagrant foul and with that, his first playoff season was over.

KG also exacted some revenge on Hawks goofy big man Zaza Pachulia. Garnett absolutely laid him out (on a clean screen) in the back court. Rivers pulled KG and the rest of the starters by the beginning of the fourth since the game was long decided and Boston will play again on Tuesday.

For now, I'm not going to look back on this series with the Hawks much. It exposed plenty of problems with Boston but the most important thing is that they got by. They are still the top seed and I feel like they should get by Cleveland as well. There's no other team that depends so heavily on one player like LeBron and the Cavs. If the Celts can slow him down for four games and make the assorted spare parts beat them, they'll be fine. It's a favorable matchup for Boston but Cleveland has been resting since Friday night so they could steal either game 1 or 2.

One loss away from the biggest upset in NBA playoff history

If someone had told you two weeks ago that the Atlanta Hawks would push the Boston Celtics to the limit, forcing seven games, you would have laughed at that ridiculous notion. Yet here we are.

The Hawks once again won at Philips Arena last night, 103-100, to force game 7 on Sunday in Boston.

This one had the look and feel of games 3 and 4, where the Celtics held double-digit leads at some point but consistently shit the bed down the stretch when it mattered. All thoughts of taking it to the hoop or getting the ball down low to KG went out to the window as everyone wanted to be the hero.

Six Hawks scored double digits, led by Marvin Williams (!) who had 18 points. Mike Bibby had 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Joe Johnson and Josh Childress each scored 15 and Josh Smith notched 11.

Kevin Garnett had a game-high 22 points, seven rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals but those numbers seem hollow since KG disappeared in the fourth quarter. I love the guy but he has to get more selfish in crunch time, when his team is falling apart. And for God's sake, you're 7 feet tall: take it to the hoop, don't settle for long contested jumpers.

Ray Allen had 20 points and six rebounds but he was 1 for 8 on three-pointers. For some odd reason, down two points with 10 seconds left, the C's drew up a play for Allen to take a tough three instead of going inside. It missed and with that the Celts chances went out the window. Sure, they had one final look to tie it up but Rajon Rondo air-balled a three when nobody else could get open. Yikes.

Paul Pierce had 17 points and six assists but he was probably the main goat. He fouled out in the fourth on a bad call but he got a T for throwing his headband. As a veteran, he can't make stupid mistakes like that. Kendrick Perkins had 14 points, Leon Powe had nine off the bench and James Posey added six points and seven rebounds.

Boston jumped out early, leading 32-20 after the first quarter. It shrunk to a one-point lead at the half, as Boston was up 50-49. The C's outscored Atlanta, 32-30 in the third but the Hawks took the fourth, 24-18.

A day later, I still can't believe there's a game seven. This is a joke. Every other series is over, with some new ones starting today while the Celtics still haven't gotten rid of the Hawks.

Doc Rivers and KG have been criticized plenty for not getting out of the first round, save for the one time KG went to the Western Conference Finals with Minnesota. It's hard to imagine the fall-out if they choke this one away. I don't even want to think about it.

Boston was a bricktastic 4 of 19 on threes while Atlanta was 1 for 7. The C's fell in love with the three and it cost them. They just refuse to drive to the basket in Atlanta, pretty strange.

stay back: geniuses at work

For what it's worth nbadraft.net (an excellent mock draft site that's updated year-round) has the Celtics taking Al Horford-power forward from Florida at Number 5. Horford is a good player and there's many other nice players that'll be available if the Celts use the pick but they're not sure things like Durant and Oden. It just makes you wonder, what could have been (again)?