Rondo showed ragin' intensity

With 7:10 left in the fourth quarter last night, Rajon Rondo left the game to a rousing ovation from the TD Banknorth Garden crowd. It was a performance worthy of one of his new Reebok commericals. Yes, the Lakers had been Rondo'd.

The little point guard had been questioned all season - and all series - but he came up big in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. After totaling just 16 points and 6 assists in the three games in Los Angeles and playing just 23 combined minutes in Games 4 and 5 after he injured his left ankle in Game 3, Rondo submitted a playoff-career-high 21 points and added 8 assists (against just one turnover) and 6 steals as the Celtics defeated the Lakers, 131-92, to capture their 17th NBA title.

"Before the game, I was going through a lot, especially not playing well on the road," said Rondo. "I talked to Ray [ Allen] before the game, just to let my frustration go, and he said I could still be a threat for the team, and I tried to go out there and still be aggressive - no matter how many shots I missed.

"I think I started 0 for 4, but I just kept attacking the rim. I just wanted to keep making Kobe [ Bryant] play defense. I didn't want to give him a night off like I did the first couple of nights on the road."

Rondo had 10 points in the third quarter when the Celtics ensured that there would be no miraculous comeback for the visitors like the one they had spun in Game 4 in Los Angeles. He drove to the basket fearlessly and even picked the pocket of Bryant, who after commiting a hard foul tapped the precocious point guard on the head, the ultimate sign of respect from the NBA MVP.

Respect Rondo had earned.

"You know, tonight Rondo was the star," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "He was the guy out there that made plays, got the steals, pushed their offense into high drive, and created havoc for us."

Rondo opened the third with a jumper, setting the tone for a second half that was part coronation and part celebration. The rest of his baskets came on drives to the hoop where he didn't look to pass; he looked to finish or get to the line. He finished 8 of 20 from the field after having shot a combined 33 times in the first five games of the series.

"I was so proud of Rajon Rondo," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "You know, he was really struggling, and to fight his way through that tonight and to play with the energy and the toughness that he played with was absolutely fantastic. I think that almost symbolized our year in a nutshell."

Good to go

The Celtics had both center Kendrick Perkins and Allen in the starting lineup. Perkins missed Game 5 after suffering a strained left shoulder during the third quarter of Game 4, and Allen flew back to Boston yesterday morning after dealing with a medical situation involving his youngest son, Walker, in Los Angeles.

Perkins was at the Celtics' practice facility in Waltham until midnight Monday getting treatment on the shoulder, after the team's return flight from LA didn't arrive until around 10:30 p.m.

Before the game, Perkins, who had not undergone an MRI, said the shoulder was "a whole lot better," and during the morning shootaround, he was able to lift his left arm and use his guide hand on his shot, something he wasn't able to do prior to Game 5. But he admitted it was still painful.

Coasting on air

Randy Auerbach, daughter of late Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach, enjoyed watching the team win the title with her friends back home in Los Angeles. After the game, she said via e-mail: "Danny [ Ainge] and [Rivers] and the owners and the team have embodied all the values and integrity that my dad brought to the Celtics and clearly it's a formula that works! My sister and I are both thrilled and especially happy that my nieces and nephew were able to experience a championship as we were able to growing up. It would have given my father immense satisfaction to hang number 17, particularly at the expense of Mr. Jackson and company, and to have so many Celtic alumni there to represent the first 16!"

Scalabrine time

During a lull in postgame interviews, reserve forward Brian Scalabrine stepped to the podium, unsolicited, to give the media some words about their predictions for the NBA Finals. "Let me break it down for you guys," Scalabrine said to laughter. "A long, long, long time ago, we committed to this team. We committed to the defensive end. We had the personnel to do it. How, when you guys consider yourselves NBA experts, can you pick the Lakers to beat us in six games? We're on TV all the time, so it's not like you don't get to watch us play. You guys were so convincing that I maybe thought in my heart that, wow this is going to be a series. I have questions for you guys. We won 66 games, we had the best defense in the NBA. I just didn't see it."

Rolling this out

A rolling rally is scheduled for tomorrow at 11 a.m. . . . Pierce played 38 minutes 35 seconds, continuing a trend of huge minutes . . . Asked if it was OK to refer to him, Pierce, and Allen as "The Big Three," Kevin Garnett said, "No. Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett. Y'all got to get us a new nickname. I know you're all more creative than 'The Big Three.' "

Marc J. Spears and Monique Walker of the Globe staff contributed to this report.