Ten free minutes for me, 10 free throwaway lines for you . . .

1. While the Pink Hatters' relentless shrieks when he steps to the plate can get a little annoying in an eardrum-shredding sort of way, it's been nothing but a pleasure to watch Jacoby Ellsbury in his rookie season with the Red Sox. Even with his recent struggles, there's no doubt he's going to be a star here for years to come. But anyone who thinks he, and not Tampa Bay phenom Evan Longoria, is the frontrunner for the AL Rookie of the Year award needs to start watching "Baseball Tonight" once in a while, or at least something other than NESN propaganda. While Ellsbury's batting average is a point higher (.272 to .271) and he obviously blows him away in steals, Longoria has a huge edge in homers (15 to 5), OPS (.874 to .739) and OPS+ (134 to 94), among other categories. Frankly, as much as we admire Ellsbury, the competition and comparison isn't even close. Longoria, coming off a torrid June in which he had a 1.066 OPS, is the superior rookie. I just hope he doesn't show as much in the next few days.

2. The win total (216) is low, and the ERA (3.46) is probably too high, but in the end, yes, I think Curt Schilling will get into the Hall of Fame. He was a crucial-to-heroic contributor on three World Champions, won 11 of 13 postseason decisions, and will be remembered as one of the greatest big game pitchers in the annals of the sport. Thanks to the bloody sock, he may be one of those players whose legend and legacy continue to grow. And while Schilling plays it humble and says he doesn't belong in Cooperstown, I betcha he has a rough draft of his speech already written.

3. So Carlton Fisk is now doing radio spots for "Just For Men" hair color. Funny, after seeing him at RemDawgPalooza the other night, I was pretty sure his dye of choice is Valvoline. We should all look so good at 60, though. (Wait . . . Pudge is 60? Good heavens, where did the time go?)

4. I've long thought Lance Berkman was baseball's most underrated great hitter - his most similar player according to baseballreference.com is David Ortiz - and he only enhanced my opinion of him while tormenting Sox pitching this weekend. But he does have one stat this season that caught even a longtime fan by surprise, and it's not the .363 batting average. Berkman is third on the Astros, behind burner Michael Bourn and Kaz Matsui, with 12 stolen bases. He must be a hell of a savvy baserunner, because he doesn't look like he could take a one-legged Sean Casey in a footrace.

FULL ENTRY

Ranking your favorite championships is like ranking your children. You have your favorites. You just don't tell your wife.

No, no, wait, dear, I was just kidding . . . Of course I love all of our babies equally . . . Even what's-his-name, the little pirate-looking fella with the wooden leg . . .

(NBA.com Photo)

Anyway, while I prepare to sleep on the couch tonight, I suppose I should warn those of you who aren't Boston sports fans that this post is an exercise in supreme arrogance. Yup, even moreso than usual.

You see, we're here today to rank our teams' six championships this decade - that's right, SIX championships - and you can bet your Loserville pennant that we're going to enjoy it.

(Editor's note: For today's purposes, we're going to pretend Super Bowl XLII never happened. Because it didn't. Thank you, TATB Management.)

So Yankees fans, you can skip out on us today and surf on over to your other favorite destination . . . what is it again, BronxChixWithMustachesTomSelleckWouldEnvy.com? Sounds right.

Lakers fans, you can stop pretending you care and again focus on your real favorite pastime: bleaching your hair, your teeth, your nostrils, your Vujacic, and whatever else happens to be the Tinseltown trend of the moment. Freaks.

And Philly fans . . . well, I don't even know where to begin with you. Moses Malone isn't walking through that door. And if he did, he'd probably drop 25 and 20 on Samuel Dalembert.

But seriously, enough about you. This is about us. So fire up the duck boats, let the confetti rain, and let's get rankin' . . .

FULL ENTRY

You're damn right it's okay to call them the Big Three now.

(AP Photo)

After the Boston Celtics' 131-92 public evisceration of the soft and soulless Los Angeles Lakers tonight to clinch their 17th world championship, let the record show that Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett no longer stand in anyone's shadow. They are NBA champions in their own right, and they did it in a manner that would impress even Larry, Kevin, and the Chief. Your kids will remember this the way we remember 1986, and that's exactly how it should be. The Big Three sequel was 22 years in the making, but man, what a movie it turned out to be.

It seems appropriate to distribute the first portion of praise to the player who has been here the longest and endured the most, the captain, Pierce. It was often said by those pushing a Laker agenda before this series that the team with the best player inevitably prevails in the Finals. Well, wouldn't you know it, that proved to be the truth . . . or should I say, The Truth. With the exception of a clunker in Game 3, Pierce thoroughly outplayed the regular season MVP, Kobe (You're No Jordan) Bryant, on both ends of the court, collecting a Finals MVP award of his own to accompany the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Celtics fans knew Pierce was complete player and a legitimate superstar long ago; now the rest of the nation does as well.

Allen took longer to win us over, but when he did it, he sure did it with flair. Tonight he hit seven of nine 3-point attempts en route to 26 points, brilliantly concluding series in which he reminded us why he is one of the most effective, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing shooters in the history of the league. Postseason success did not come easy for Allen - he agonized through a 9-for-51 slump in the early rounds that left some wondering if the 32-year-old's gas tank was on empty. To his credit, he stuck to his legendary pregame routine, literally shot his way out of the slump, and was so consistently excellent against the Lakers (a Finals-record 21 3-pointers) that he would have been a worthy MVP had the honor not gone to Pierce. Allen proved himself to be the epitome of a professional, and it has been a privilege to watch him these past two weeks.

As for Mr. Garnett, the word we used earlier today keeps returning to mind: Redemption. Never again should his fortitude in the big moments be questioned, never again should those who criticized his game be heard. It turns out Bill Russell doesn't have to give him a ring after all. Tonight, he went out and claimed his own, scoring 26 points, collecting 14 rebounds, and earning his place on the pedestal alongside the great Celtic big men of other eras. Watching him embrace Russell in the aftermath . . . well, if that doesn't make a Boston sports fan a little verklempt, then your cynical soul is beyond hopeless, my friend.

If there was any doubt about this trio's Hall of Fame credentials - and really, there shouldn't have been - it was permanently erased last night, when they combined for 69 points, 21 rebounds, and 16 assists. Appropriately, Pierce, Allen, and Garnett exited together with 4:01 left to play, spending the final moments of the season beaming through a continuous photo op and rejoicing in the ultimate team feat, something none of them could accomplish solo in their decorated careers.

And make no mistake - despite those sensational contributions of the, yes, Big Three, this was a complete team effort. So many members of the unsung supporting cast - think anyone still believes the Lakers have a superior bench? - deserve a standing ovation today.

We must start with James Posey, for he is to these Celtics what Troy Brown was to the '01 Patriots. When something absolutely, positively needed to be done during this postseason - say, drilling a 3-pointer from the corner, taking a charge on Kobe, poking away a steal in the back court, anything - he inevitably did it. He is the ultimate role player, just what every championship team needs, and there are few recent Boston athletes I've admired more.

So many others deserve a salute: Eddie House, who kept his shooting hand locked and loaded even when minutes were scarce . . . Kendrick Perkins, whose toughness and brute-force defense gave the old timers some welcome Paul Silas flashbacks . . . Rajon Rondo, the maddening but bright and gifted kid point guard who saved his best for last (21 points, 8 assists, 6 steals, 1 turnover) . . . Leon Powe, who made sure Phil Jackson learned his name . . . youthful and exuberant Big Baby Davis . . . ancient and wise P.J. Brown . . . and hell, yes, even Cassell.

Let's not overlook the two men most responsible for bringing this wonderful team together. There's Doc Rivers, the maligned coach, who demonstrated such an uncommon (and unexpected) knack for making the right choices as the stakes grew larger that one almost had to wonder if someone was whispering in his ear. Rivers, relentlessly positive and unifying, always had his players' respect, even when the seas were roughest, which tells you all you need to know about his competence.

Finally, there's Danny Ainge, the direct link from that beloved champion 22 years ago to this one, the tireless-shooting-guard-turned-tireless-GM whose savvy trades and free agent signings sparked the greatest one-season turnaround in league history. I still don't know whether the sequence of events that led to the Garnett deal was more by luck or design, but at this moment, it matters not one bit. He revived the franchise, and he cannot receive enough credit for that.

To think about where the the Celtics were 12 months ago - reeling after yet another lottery letdown, leaving its downtrodden fans muttering and desperately trying to talk themselves into believing in a pipe dream such as the raw promise of Gerald Green - well, it might just be the most improbable story of all in this remarkable (six champions!) decade of Boston sports success.

Read the words: The Boston Celtics, World Champions. At last and again.

Let the praise and the champagne flow.

Ten free minutes for me, 10 free throwaway lines for you . . .

1. It's not possible to exaggerate it: tonight is set up to be the defining moment of Kevin Garnett's career. A strong individual performance in a Celtics victory would secure his legacy as a champion, as the player whose arrival revived Celtics Pride, and as one of the sport's 25 to 35 all-time greatest players . . . or, should he play as poorly as he did in Game 5, it would only enhance thearguments of those who say he swallows his tongue in the biggest moments, that he'll never be a true superstar because he habitually shrivels in the spotlight. I think I've made clear over the course of this wonderful season how much Garnett his admired around here, and while I'll agree that he does make curious decisions on occasion, I believe wholeheartedly that he will deliver one of his classic 24-point, 15-rebound performances in front of the home crowd tonight. Other than watching Paul Pierce celebrate as a champion, I can't think of another angle I'll enjoy more than the KG redemption.

2. I have to admit, I didn't think the Celtics would miss Kendrick Perkins as much as they did in Game 5, and it's reassuring that he's going to try to give it a go tonight. In his absence, and with KG in foul trouble, Pau Gasol actually asserted himself, which he hasn't done since his mother tried to talk him out of wearing his sister's leotard to school in fourth grade.

3. I guess this means the advertising was effective, because I'm actually curious to see how those NBA split-screen, talking-head commercials end once the Finals are over. Gotta figure it will be Garnett's mug alone, rhapsodizing about winning a championship, followed by Pierce and Ray Allen, right? Oh, and Scal, obviously. Just as long as Larry in a tank top doesn't make another appearance, we should be cool with whatever they come up with.

4. In case you ever catch me offering fantasy baseball advice in this space again, please, remind me that I recommended and coveted these three players at the start of this season: Justin Verlander, Troy Tulowitzki, and Aaron Hill. Yikes - even Bill Bavasi wasn't that inept. I'm just grateful I didn't get any of them, and stumbled into Brandon Webb after Verlander went a few picks earlier.

FULL ENTRY

So here we are, Game 107 of the most redemptive of seasons, and as we nervously anticipate the arrival of victory No. 82 and the 22 seasons' worth of euphoria that will accompany it, for once I will cut to the chase:

I think the Celtics will win this thing tonight, and I think they will win it going away.

After the enduring Game 4's epic collapse, I just can't see any of the Lakers other than Kobe and perhaps Derek Fisher showing up for this one. Certainly a fast start by the Celtics will render the EuroSofties useless for the remainder of the night, and a fast start by the Lakers can be overcome. We saw proof of as much on ESPN Classic just last night.

To put it another way: When your season is hanging in the balance, do you really want to be relying on the marshmallow-tough likes of Pau Gasol, Sasha (Ole!) Vujacic, and Vladimir Radmanovic? No, you don't, and I don't think Phil Jackson does, either.

And while we'd all love to see a Boston team clinch a championship at home one of these seasons - wow, how greedy did that just sound? - there would be an appropriate symmetry to clinching tonight in LA.

I like the idea of Paul Pierce enjoying his career-defining, Hall of Fame-clinching moment in the city in which he was raised. And it would warm even the most cynical hearts to see Doc Rivers, who lost his dad unexpectedly earlier this season, have a moment of joy this Father's Day.

Even without the sidelined Kendrick Perkins, who apparently doesn't have Martin Riggs's ability to pop his shoulders into place and will be replaced by Leon Powe in the starting lineup tonight, the Celtics are the tougher team. They are also the superior one.

I said it in the tease, and I'll say it again. Tonight is where No. 17 happens.

FIRST QUARTER
12:00 - Celts win the tip. This one's in the bag.

11:44 - Celts turnover. Damn, those Lakers are resilient!

11:03 - Kobe hits a step-back three, and the Lakers are off to a 5-0 start. It'll be interesting to see if his teammates are permitted to shoot before he touches the ball on a particular possession. Part of the problem down the stretch for the Lakers Thursday is that Bryant didn't trust his teammates on a night when he wasn't shooting well, while conversely, his teammates were way too deferential to him.

10:45 - Dick Bavetta and Kenny Mauer. I guess Joey Crawford couldn't get off his shift at Jiffy Lube. It's a wonder Pierce hasn't fouled out yet.

9:04 - Fisher drills a three, and it's already 8-2, LA. He's one Laker you have to respect, and probably the only one on the roster who could tell Kobe to shut the hell up without having to deal with the petty repercussions.

7:49 - Rondo passes up an open layup to kick it to Pierce for a three, which he misses. I hate it when Rondo does that - it happens at least once a game.

7:01 - Gasol gets position on Powe, collects the offensive rebound, and converts a conventional 3-point play. That probably wouldn't have happened with Perkins out there, and I thought it was interesting in the pregame when Jeff Van Gundy said the Celtics will miss him more than people realize because of his defensive prowess. Of course, that's coming from someone whose ideal score is 68-66.

6:38 - Bryant for three, and it's 18-5. Good timeout by Doc. This run by the Lakers isn't surprising - they should have the adrenaline out of the gate - but the Celtics need to do all they can to keep it under control.

5:33 - Kobe drills another three, and he is not going to go quietly.

5:16 - Thirty seconds after checking in, Eddie House knocks down a three. If I'm a Lakers fan, I loathe that guy in the same way Celtics fans loathe Vujacic.

4:53 - Kobe, 3. Right now it's Bryant 14, Celtics 10.

3:07 - Strong lefty slash by Fisher, and it's apparent the Lakers' old champions have come to play tonight. No surprise there. It's the rest of the cast that will be their downfall.

2:08 - Lamar Odom steps off the side of the milk carton to lead a 4-on-2 break that culminates with his lefty layup, and it's 31-15. Says Mike Breen: "Celtics have them right where they want them." I think he was being sarcastic, but he's also right.

1:08 - Garnett picks up his second foul, a bummer since he's off to a great start with eight points, including - gasp! - a nice drop-step for two on the last possession.

:47 - Pierce has Luke Walton guarding him right now. Bill Walton has quicker feet. The Celtics need to take advantage of this.

:39.1 - Pierce draws a foul on Walton and hits two from the line. Great minds, baby . . .

:29.2 - Jordan Farmar buries a jumper, and Breen practically jumps out of his seat yelling "FARMAR!" Of course, the "I HEART JORDAN FARMAR" t-shirt he's wearing should have told us where his allegiances are tonight.

:00 - The Lakers own a 39-22 advantage after one, thanks to 65 percent shooting from the field. I'm assuming they're familiar with the law of averages after the other night. No worries yet, my friends. This will be a game yet.

Candace Parker, I agree: You couldn't pay me to watch women's basketball, either.

SECOND QUARTER
12:00 - Celtics great Chris Mihm makes an appearance! Frankly, I'm impressed he remembered to put his game shorts on.

FULL ENTRY

So please join me @ 9, when, as the slogan might say, No. 17 happens.

Two TATB live blogs in the Finals, two Celtics victories. If it's all right with you, I'd just as soon continue the trend.

(AP Photo)

A few pregame points of interest:

• Rajon Rondo's health is the question of the night, and judging by the pregame reports, the Celtics' point guard is good to go. He's got the recuperative powers of youth on his side and I'm pretty sure he's made out of rubber anyway, so I'm not particularly worried about his condition, at least until Sam Cassell heads to the scorer's table. Here's hoping Eddie House gets the brunt of the minutes if Rondo is slowed at all.

• Jon Barry picked the Celtics to win. James Worthy picked Pau Gasol to domininate Kevin Garnett. For once, Barry wasn't the biggest numbskull on the ABC set. Big night for him.

• I understand people wanting Kevin Garnett to play closer to the basket - those 21-footers really should be 18-footers - but anyone who expects him to suddenly break out his former general manager's post moves simply has not been paying attention. That's not who he is. He's a great midrange shooter who's not hitting his shots right now, in part because of Kobe Bryant's double team. He'll be better tonight, and he'll anchor the defense and rebound no matter what.

• Lamar Odom did make it to the game. Of course, I'm pretty sure Chris Mihm's sole duty at this point is to make sure Odom gets to the Staples Center.

All right, game time. Here's to victory No. 81 . . .

FIRST QUARTER
10:43 - Odom and Ray Allen trade quick baskets, then Paul Pierce clanks a three and misses badly on a floater/pass/something. He's already trying to be the hero. Not a good sign.

10:13 - Perkins is called for a loose ball foul after Kobe gives the Lakers a 5-2 lead at the line. Ticky-tack, unnecessary foul. Somewhere, Tim Donaghy nods knowingly at his new cellmate and life partner, Bubba.

9:30 - Doc Rivers gets called for a technical. I'm with him on this one. The Lakers are getting all the whistles early, not that they need much help.

9:12 - Odom dunks to cap a 7-0 Laker run, and it's 9-2. The Lakers look smooth, the Celtics look semi-conscious, and the officials' stripes might as well be purple and gold.

7:21 - Another hoop for Odom, followed a few moments later by a Vladimir Radmanovic 3-pointer. All of the Lakers' softies have come to play thus far tonight.

6:22 - My boy, 22 months, has an infection in one ear right now. The doctor today said his equilibrium would be off and he'd be wobbly for a few days. I'm beginning to wonder if Paul Pierce has an ear infection. He can't even dribble without stumbling so far, and Garnett is no better. For such a great passer, he has no clue how to solve the double team when Kobe runs at him. Hell, Kobe just pulled the ball out of his hands a few minutes ago. It's 16-6, LA, and they'd better find some solutions soon.

6:05 - Odom with offensive rebound, resulting in Garnett's second foul. Honestly, I don't know what to say this point.

5:34 - Radmanovic hits another 3, right in Pierce's mug, and LA takes a 20-6 lead. The next time he touches the ball, I hope he gets Rambised into the third row. He'd be useless and quivering the rest of the night.

5:00 - Eddie House in for Rondo. Van Gundy approves, and so do I. Something or someone needs to provide an offensive spark, which reminds me: Do they ever run a set play for Ray Allen? He shot the lights out of the place Tuesday, and now he gets his shots only after Pierce decides he doesn't have enough room to heave up a three.

3:38 - Odom buries his fifth straight shot, and I'm beginning to regret every snide thing I ever said about him.

3:26 - House misses his second straight attempt. You don't think Sam Cassell is contagious, do you?

3:03 - Current score: Odom 12, Celtics 7.

2:10 - Pierce scores on a drive, then feeds Allen for a 3. Mike Breen, who I'm almost sure is wearing a game-worn Gail Goodrich jersey tonight, informs us that it's the first time the Celtics have scored on consecutive positions. That pretty much tells you all you need to know.

1:58 - James Posey in. This is overdue. He'll stick an elbow in someone's sternum. Hopefully, Odom's.

:51.1 - House bricks a wide-open three. If he's not hitting that, he's as useless as Cassell. Well, okay, no one's that useless.

:51 - The Lakers are killing the Celtics on the boards - I think Breen just said it's 12-6. Inexcusable. The Lakers are not a tough or physical team, but the Celtics are making them look like one. How does this happen?

:33 - Trevor Ariza hits a 3, and it's 34-12. Read that again: Trevor Ariza hits a 3. I'm beyond confusion now. I'm pissed.

:4.7 - The Lakers have more free throw attempts (16) than the Celtics have points (14), but you know what? It's not all the refs' fault. The Celtics have been just that passive, just that awful. They deserve this.

:00 - The Lakers end the quarter with a football blowout of a lead - 35-14 - and Breen gleefully reports it's the largest lead after one quarter in Finals history. I'm trying to talk myself into believing they can come back from this, but I haven't seen a single reason why I should.

SECOND QUARTER
9:50 - The Staples Center crowd is giving Ariza (6 points, 5 rebounds in 5 minutes) a standing ovation, which tells you all you need to know. I'm pretty sure they didn't know him from Ira Newble 20 minutes ago.

9:02 - Two straight hoops for Garnett - well, that's something - and it's 37-19.

8:13 - Breen: "Former draft pick of the New York Knicks, Trevor Ariza, getting it done for the Lakers." Ah, now his true identity is revealed . . . Funny how Knicks fans conveniently morph into Lakers fans when it comes to the Celtics. We're looking at you, Spike.

8:05 - I think Michelle Tafoya just jumped Will Smith. Probably the smoothest move of the night by anyone not wearing gold.

7:53 - Odom. Again. Seven shots, seven makes. I think he might read this blog. I'm sorry, Lamar. You've made your point. You can go back to sleep now.

7:31 - Garnett bricks a turnaround, followed by a turnover on the next possession, and the Celtics have absolutely no flow on offense. None. Bricked threes and misses on contested shots. This is just gross. I feel like I'm watching the Knicks.

4:46 - Kobe just bricked a jumper, and I'm not sure he even has a field goal yet, which tells you all you need to know about how his supporting cast is playing.

4:13 - Allen for 3, and it's 45-26. If Doc has a brain in his head, he'll run every play for No. 20 and see if he can shoot the C's back into this thing. Of course, that's assuming the Celtics have plays for Allen. (Great timeout here by Phil Jackson, who typically does a fantastic job of managing the game's momentum.)

3:48 - Posey for 3, and the Celtics have it down to 14 . . .

2:51 - . . . Pierce for two more, and it's a 12-0 run. And this is all happening as Breen (now adorned in Chuck Nevitt's practice-worn tube socks) are all but talking about this game in the past tense. The Celtics may not come all the way back in this thing, but veteran NBA announcers should know better than to write a game off in the first half.

2:36 - A conventional 3-point play by Derek Fisher wakes up the Staples Center crowd (I think they were all "powdering their noses" at the same time), Gasol follows with an easy two, and suddenly it's back up to 17. The Celtics simply cannot afford to stall out now. They need to be within a dozen at the half.

1:14 - Posey drills another 3. He has 10 points in the quarter. If he's lucky, Trevor Ariza will grow up to be James Posey some day.

:52.2 - I'm not sure if Pierce's knee is the reason, but he looks a step slower than usual tonight. That said, he just bounded to the hoop and drew the third foul on Kobe. Could be meaningful later if the Celts keep chipping away.

:5.2 - Rondo is getting schooled by Fisher off the dribble. Might be due to the sore ankle, might be due to inexperience, might be due to the fact that the Celtics completely stink tonight. You figure it out. In the meantime, give me more House, please.

:00 - Jordan Farmar throws in a running 3 at the buzzer to end the half, and it's 58-40 as the Lakers skip off to the locker room to get their halftime massages from Dyan Cannon and that creepy guy in the hat who sits next to Nicholson. The only way it could have been a more appropriate end to a %*$*$ half of basketball is if Ariza or Odom hit the shot.

Also, I should note this: Doc took Garnett out to prevent him from getting his third foul with about a minute left in the quarter at the LA lead down to 13. Right now, that is looking Isiah-level stupid - the Celtics lost their anchor on defense and all momentum on offense.

Halftime analysis: Enough with this Ubuntu, happy-happy, joy-joy b.s. I hope Doc lights into them, then punctuates his rant by breaking his clipboard over Pierce's head. Neither the clipboard nor Pierce have been of much use tonight so far anyway.

(Postgame note: Okay, enough of that negativity. For the good parts, click below.)

FULL ENTRY

So please join me @ 9 p.m. as we discover the answer to this burning question: Does Lamar Odom even know there's a game tonight?

Postgame overreaction while spotting Eddie Murphy in the stands and realizing that the last time he was funny, the Celtics and Lakers were in the Finals . . .

(AP Photo)

1. While I can't help but lament the lost opportunity tonight - the victory was there for the taking, and for all intents and purposes so was Banner No. 17, since we all know a 3-0 lead is surmountable in sports only when Big Papi is involved - I'm feeling strangely fine about the Celtics' performance, even in defeat. Considering that the Lakers were amped up to be playing their first game of the Finals in front of Jack, Denzel, and the rest of the Tinseltown sycophants, and considering that Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett combined to score 17 points on Cassell-like 8-of-35 shooting, you can't help but feel encouraged that the Celtics, buoyed by the dazzlingly rejuvenated Ray Allen (25 points, five 3s) and their usual lockdown defense, still had a damn good chance of swiping the game in the final minutes. While I am beginning to worry that this entire roster is going to be on crutches by the time the playoffs end - Rajon Rondo sprained an ankle tonight, Kendrick Perkins isn't quite himself, and Pierce's problematic knee seemed to affect his lateral quickness, though you just know he was faking - I am convinced more than ever that they are the superior team, and they'll eventually have that golden trophy to prove it. It's not often you come out of a loss with such optimism.

2. Kobe was excellent as expected, dropping in an efficient 36 points on 20 field-goal attempts, though had he not been uncharacteristically scattershot from the free-throw line (he missed 7 of 18), the Lakers might have been able to avoid some of that fourth-quarter drama. Bryant was also a demon on the defensive end, seemingly covering Pierce and Rondo at once while apparently intent on showing Jeff Van Gundy that his stellar reputation as a defender is justified. Yes, it was an outstanding all-around performance by the MVP - but hell, that's what he's supposed to do, right? In that regard, the key to the victory wasn't Bryant, but Sasha Vujacic, the floppy-haired pest who proved a capable second option on a night the Lakers were desperate for one, scoring 20 points in 28 minutes, including a back-breaking 3-pointer to give the Lakers an 81-76 lead inside the final two minutes. Vujacic, who is apparently determined to prove that all of the Lakers' Europeans aren't as soft as Bartolo Colon's underbelly, has serious villain potential should the Lakers ultimately make a series of this thing.

FULL ENTRY

Yup, I'm here, and just flipped on the Samsung to catch a snippet of the Bill Russell/Kevin Garnett conversation ESPN has been milking throughout the playoffs. If I heard right - and I may not have, because as I was watching, my wife and in-house analyst exclaimed, "That's Bill Russell? I thought he was white" - it sounded like Russell promised to give Garnett one of his championship rings if the Celtics don't win it this year. Pretty cool gesture, and one you, me, and especially KG desperately hope he doesn't have to fulfill.

(Getty Images)

Anyway, on to the game. The key to this one should be obvious to just about everyone, possibly even Jon Barry:

The health of Paul Pierce and Kendrick Perkins: Like I said, obviously. By all accounts, Pierce feels and looks relatively healthy, and for that we can probably thank the nutty schedulemaker who booked two off days in the same city between Games 1 and 2. (If there's a logical reason for this, I must have missed it.) While much of the Celtics' fate in this series depends on the state of Pierce's messed-up meniscus, we also can't underestimate the importance of Perk, who has a chance to be a huge factor against a Lakers team that was shockingly soft in Game 1. (Has Gasol opened his eyes after Garnett's follow-up jam yet?) Perkins could be just the guy to rattle some brittle Laker bones, but if his ankle isn't close to healthy, then he's not going to be of much use.

Two other points while waiting for the 46th commerical break of the pregame to end: 1) That Kobe-walking-around-Boston thing was stupid and contrived. It figures that Stuart Scott liked it. 2) Doc Rivers just quoted Tony Dungy in his pregame speech, and I believe the reference had to do with how the Colts finally overcame the Patriots. At this point in Boston sports history, I don't particularly believe in bad omens, but I do have to wonder if Doc knows what city he is in right now. I mean . . . Dungy? He couldn't just read a passage from Derek Jeter's biography?

FIRST QUARTER
11:51 - Perkins waits exactly nine seconds to pick up his first foul. In a related note, Mike Breen informed us a few minutes ago that Perk had a cortisone shot before the game. We may be seeing a lot of P.J. Brown and Leon Powe tonight, and maybe even Big Baby.

10:06 - In the first 1:54, Pierce has hit a 3 and drawn two fouls on Vladimir Radmanovic, forcing Phil Jackson to dust off Trevor Ariza, who has played so little since coming back from injury that he smells like mothballs. So far, so good for Pierce.

9:13 - Perk hits a baseline fadeaway. Obviously, he's really hurting. He'd never make that shot if he was his usual self.

8:18 - Pierce blows by Ariza, makes a lefty layup, and draws a foul on Lamar Odom. That's either his fourth or fifth shot attempt, and yes, I'd say he's probably feeling quite all right. Wonder if he's ever heard of Bill Plaschke. If not, he's lucky.

7:04 - It's 10-8, Lakers, after Garnett misses a midrange jumper. The Celtics don't seem to be shooting particularly well right now, and as I'm writing that, the Celts commit their fourth turnover of the quarter on a ticky-tack offensive foul call. Not exactly the ideal start here.

5:50 - Odom gets a tip-in, prompting Mark Jackson to say something like: "You can tell by Odom and Gasol's body language that they have come to play." Meaning they don't look A) stoned or B) ready to burst into tears. That's their fourth quarter "body language."

4:28 - KG has hit two jumpers in a row, and it's 15-14, Lakers. Good to see, because that bearded turtle Gasol has outplayed him slightly so far.

3:51 - Ray Allen for 3, and the net barely fluttered. When he's feeling it, there isn't a prettier shot in the game, but you probably knew that. For the record, my all-time favorite jump shooter, non-Legend division, is Dale Ellis, who had no wasted motion in his shot whatsoever - it was basically a flick of the wrist. Poetry in motion, it was.

1:59 - Kobe picks up his second foul and sits with the Lakers leading, 19-18. I think it's fair to say that one doesn't get called at the Staples Center.

Commercial: Can Alonzo Mourning even drink Gatorade? That stuff can't possibly be good for the kidneys.

1:00 - Nice decision by Rondo, feeding Garnett for an open J just before the shot clock expired. I like what I've seen of him so far.

:44.3 - Van Gundy reiterates that Kobe Bryant shouldn't be on the All-Defensive Team, says he's a "lawyer" on the court, and then suggests players should get seven fouls rather than six. Have I mentioned yet tonight that he's the best basketball analyst I've heard in . . . well, I can't think of anyone who really compares in terms of humor and insight.

:07 - Jordan Farmar, who has apparently borrowed Jorge Posada's ears for the evening, hits a 3, Allen has a near-miss on the other end, and the Lakers lead after one, 22-20. I'll take it.

SECOND QUARTER
12:00 - Cassell in. Note to self: Prepare to heave the remote at the TV.

FULL ENTRY

So please join me as we watch World B. Cassell hoist 32 shots in 8 minutes of playing time, which should work out to a point-per-minute pace . . .

Man, my mind was on this basketball game all day - I don't think I'd anticipated a Celtics game this eagerly since all those epics they've been running on ESPN Classic this week were live on CBS 20-something years ago. Surely you can relate to the feeling.

(AP Photo)

Then I made a terrible mistake. I tuned into the Sox tonight for an appetizer. After witnessing the horror of an Ellsbury injury, a possible Manny hamstring tweak, a bizarre Manny/Youkilis near-reenactment of Reggie Jackson/Billy Martin in the dugout, and a brawl filled with so many Rays cheap shots you wonder if they thought Brian Daubach was still playing for the Sox (I think even Gerald "Ice" Williams got in a few jabs) . . . well, I'm having a hard time focusing on hoops right now.

Fortunately, Mike Breen just popped up on the TV, and he appears to be wearing a freakish flesh-colored band-aid over his right eyebrow. Just the distraction I needed. I bet if you dunked him in powder and gave him a stringy black wig, he'd look like Marilyn Manson.

Anyway, I'm running behind as usual - did I mention my 4-year-old tripped over the computer cord, the Mac crashed to the floor, and now only half the screen appears to work? - so let's just cut to the chase: Celtics in 7, with Win No. 13 of this postseason arriving tonight. I'll elaborate more as the game goes on . . .

FIRST QUARTER
9:00 - Lakers jump to an insurmountable 6-5 lead. Lamar Odom hit his first jumper, which isn't an encouraging sign for the Celtics. To me (and I lot of other people weighing in on this series the last few days) he's the key to the Lakers, much in the way Ray Allen is for Boston. When Odom's playing well, his team's offense is damn near unstoppable. Secretly, I was hoping a Celts fan would send Odom a giant gift bag of weed this week, just to see if it might have some effect.

8:22 - Rajon Rondo swishes a baseline jumper, giving the Celts a 7-6 lead. Unlike just about everyone at ESPN, I like Rondo against Derek Fisher in this series. He's got gears that Fisher has never had, and I feel like he should be able to zip by him almost at will.

7:00 - Sorry this is moving so slowly. My wife is reading along on the busted half-screen computer, and she keeps asking me questions and talking and that sort of stuff that wives instinctively tend to do when a game you've been waiting to watch for - well, years, in one sense - finally arrives. ("Look all the crumbs came out of the computer when it fell . . . ") I'd like to tell her to zip it, but that would be rude, and I'm really quite polite, you know.

5:42 - Gasol makes things look really easy offensively. He's more or less ambidextrous. One Perkins elbow to the sternum, however, and he'll be as useless as Chris Mihm for long stretches of play. (And somewhere, Don Cherry nods and snorts, "European sissy.")

3:21 - Bryant bricks his fourth shot in five attempts. Allen followed at the other end with his second straight field goal, a 3-pointer, to give the Celtics a 19-14 lead. And in a related story, I don't buy for a second that they've made up in their feud. Allen might be the forgiving type, but Kobe strikes me as someone who can hold a grudge for a long time. Like, forever. After all, he is a Jordan mimic.

Commercial: I've said it before, and it's the honest truth - Adam Sandler was the funniest standup act I ever saw in college, and that includes Seinfeld and quite a few comics of note. But I wouldn't go see that Zohan movie if he paid for my Sprite and Goobers.

2:31 - Jordan Farmar with a smooth slash to the hoop. I thought it was foolish that anyone would give Mitch Kupchak consideration over Danny Ainge for executive of the year this season, but the Lakers' GM has done a terrific job the last few seasons rebuilding the L.A. bench with kids like Farmar, Vujacic, and Turiaf, among others. Like Ainge, he seems to have an eye for finding talent that those picking higher in the draft have overlooked. That's a hell of an advantage for a team already stocked with big names.

1:04 - It's 21-21, and Rondo's playing a little recklessly right now. He just slightly misled Garnett on an alley-oop, and he drives me nuts when he has a path to a layup, gets within a few feet of the rim, and passes up the layup to kick it out for a jumper. Take the easy one, kid.

After the first quarter, it's 23-21, Celts, and given how erratic Kobe has been so far, the Lakers have to feel pretty good about that.

Phil Jackson tells Michelle Tafoya that the Celts are faceguarding Kobe. Is whining about imaginary sleights one of the basic tenets of Zen?

SECOND QUARTER
12:00 - Celtics start the quarter with Sam Cassell, P.J. Brown, and Leon Powe on the court. Not exactly DJ, McHale, and Maxwell there, but it'll have to do, I suppose.

9:52 - Lamar Odom is only 28? Wow, it feels like he's been around so long that he should have played for the Clippers back when they were in San Diego. Jim Harrick is probably still trying to find a way to get him eligible at Rhode Island.

9:36 - Cassell hits his first two shots. Surprisingly, they did not stop the game and present him with the ball.

9:21 - Seriously, what the hell could have possibly happened with Manny and Youkilis? Youk looked like he had no idea what was wrong.

8:46 - Mark Jackson: "Kobe Bryant is as good as Michael Jordan on any given day." That nonsense is barely out of his mouth before a graphic proves him to be a complete fool: Jordan averaged five more points, and won three more titles and four more MVPs. He is not as good as Michael Jordan. What he is is an adequate facsimile . . . on any given day.

8:00 - Celts up, 32-29. Cassell has hit all three of his shots, and as Breen sagely notes, "I think he's shot the ball every time he's touched it." That's our Sam.

7:25 - I'll admit it. I like Ronny Turiaf. He plays hard, and was about the only player on those likable Gonzaga teams who didn't have a goofy white-guy 'fro.

6:27 - I really do think the Celts win the series in 7, and I bet at least six of the games are instant classics. These teams are about as evenly matched as they could possibly be, and while the depth of talent isn't quite what it was in the mid-'80s, when accomplished players like McAdoo, Wedman, Cooper, Walton, and Mychal Thompson were in reserve roles, they're about as deep as teams get in today's NBA. These two deserve to be here, and they'll give us a show.

5:23 - Garnett has 16 so far in the first half, most of them coming on his patented 16- to 18-foot face-up jumper. I understand the frustration of the Felger-types who would prefer that he drag his 7-foot frame down to the block more often, especially late in games, but sometimes it's easy to forget that he is one hell of a midrange shooter. I feel like every one he takes is going in. Anyway, it's 40-35, Boston. No complaints.

4:55 - Pierce picks up his third foul. Can't say I've heard his name too much so far, but the points will come, provided he can stay on the court.

3:03 - Odom finishes a sweet lefty drive, and it's 45-42, Lakers. No one makes the game look easier than he does when he's interested.

1:20 - Just when I'm about to praise Rondo for a nifty drive-and-flip in the lane, he throws one of those stupid lob passes that nearly killed the Cs in Game 5 against Detroit. You think Doc Rivers, an ex-point guard, would have cured him of that bad habit by now . . .

:50 - . . . and as I'm writing that, he drills a jumper. I'll give Rondo this, he shoots it without hesitation now. The kid has come a long way.

:00 - Lakers take a 51-46 lead into the break despite Kobe shooting 3 for 10. Somehow, Fisher is the Lakers' leading scorer with 13 points, though I can't recall hearing his name too often.

Halftime thoughts: Jon Barry just said what I've been saying - the Celts should be worried since Kobe hasn't really got it going yet. I hate it when Jon Barry agrees with me . . . Magic says Garnett should have taken more than nine shots. Can't argue that, but what I'm really thinking is this: How has Magic remained so healthy? Looking at him, my ignorant self is guessing there are some steroids (legal, obviously) involved . . . I'm not too worried about the way this one is going, because I just feel like most of the games in this series are going to come down to the last minute or two, and this is shaping up to be one of them . . . Cassell really gave the Celts are spark, hitting 3 of his 4 shots. Still, I'd rather see Eddie House out there, and it's alarming that Doc supposedly (according to Mark Jackson) told Cassell he would play a big role in this series . . . Gasol has had too many easy shots. I hope Leon Powe is sharpening up his elbow at halftime . . . That Bird-Magic split-screen: Yikes. I think they were wearing XXXL jerseys, and I don't want to guess what the shorts situation was. I'm glad we can see only from the neck up there.

THIRD QUARTER
10:45 - Pierce converts a 3 plus a foul. Good thing Bennett Salvatore isn't in the building

9:21 - Garnett continues his aggressiveness on offense and scores his second straight hoop in the paint, giving him 20 points. Neither Gasol nor Odom, who just watched his favorite scenes in "Half-Baked" at halftime, has any interest in defending him. Van Gundy's right: Keep feeding him.

8:28 - Van Gundy on Kobe: "He plays sporadic great defense, but there's no way he deserves to be first-team all-defensive." Now that is the kind of stuff you want to hear from an analyst, and you know what? Listening to him call the Celtics games during the playoffs has made me respect him a lot more as a coach. He may look like Miss DePesto's husband, but he knows his stuff, and he can convey it to a dummy like me with insight and humor.

6:50 - Aw, geez, no. Pierce is down, grabbing his right knee, and he writhing like he's in serious pain. Looks like Perkins may have kicked him in the back of the leg on the way by while chasing Kobe. Let me tell you, I'm finding it pretty damn hard to type with my fingers crossed.

A wheelchair. *%&#&.

If something like this happens to Paul Pierce at this point in his career, after all he's been through, there is absolutely no justice in sports.

6:19 - Perkins picks up his fourth foul. I don't think the one on Pierce is included. (Sorry. This is no time for dark humor.)

5:50 - Now Perkins is headed to the locker room. I hope it's just to give Pierce a hug and a pound and say he's sorry.

5:44 - Allen drills a 3. Exactly what they need - he has to step up right now, and I think he's up to it.

5:12 - Wait! Is that . . . ? It is! Holy cow, here comes . . .

This is unreal. I've got chills.

5:04 - Tafoya says Pierce is trying to give it a go on a sprained knee. Maybe there might have been a little of false drama involved - Pierce is from Los Angeles - but dammit, if anyone doesn't respect this guy now, then they're absolutely hopeless.

4:41 - Pierce gets whacked by Kobe and promptly hits 1 of 2 from the line. That's the Paul Pierce I know.

4:10 - Allen with a bad behind the back pass to Pierce on the break, but you know what? I've got no problem with it, because if the play had been completed, the resulting roar would have blown the roof off the barn.

3:40 - Perk's coming back out of the locker room. He's probably wondering where Pierce went.

3:25 - I was watching one of the Celts-Lakers games from '84-'85 earlier today on ESPN Classic, and Byron Scott had a highlight-reel dunk over DJ on the break, the kind you don't see too often nowadays because some stiff would have hauled him down in the open court. Well, Kobe's dunk just trumped that one as the best I'd seen today, live or on tape. And in a related note: This is a fantastic basketball game. I feel like I'm in the '80s again, I'm 15 years old, and I'm wearing a cheap cotton 00 Celtics tank top my mom got at TJ Maxx.

2:25 - Garnett misses the jumper, but geez, Gasol just plays no defense. He might as well be wearing orange instead of purple, because he's nothing but a pylon.

1:42 - Pierce buries a 3 in transition, and the Celts are up one, 72- . . . and ANOTHER! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! 75-71. But before I can stop typing all those EEEEEs, Pierce picks up his fourth foul. Shoot. Way to kill a buzz.

0:00 - Well, that was the most entertaining quarter of basketball I've seen since the Bird Era, and that is not hyperbole. The Celtics lead, 77-74, and the half closes with a shot of Pierce riding the exercise bike on the fringe of the stands, then laughing and patting a Spaudling-shaped fan on the shoulder after the fan offered a few words of wisdom. Phenomenal, phenomenal stuff, and isn't it great to feel this way about basketball again?

FOURTH QUARTER
12:00 - Allen is the only Celtics starter on the floor to start the quarter. Don't go too long without KG, Doc.

10:51 - Allen and Kobe swap hoops. Did we mention they don't like each other? Kobe does seem to be bringing out the best in Allen.

10:11 - Cassell's now missed three in a row, the last one, as Breen said, "a bad shot." Get the warmups off, Rajon.

9:38 - Cassell hits a J after a huge save at midcourt by Garnett, but then clanks a 3 on the next possession. So it goes with him. Even World B. Free thinks he's a gunner.

8:44 - I'm not saying this because he's my favorite player on the team, but doesn't it seem like every shot James Posey hits comes at the perfect time?

8:33 - Great stat: In the 10-plus minutes since Pierce got hurt, the Celtics have outscored the Lakers, 28-16. Well, that's not exactly how I expected it to go, I know that much.

7:30 - Seriously, Cassell needs to stop shooting, now. I think Van Gundy is going to start screaming at Doc to take him out any minute if this keeps up . . .

7:03 - . . . and then he passes one up as the shot clock hits 1 second. Not the kind of play a 14-year veteran should be making.

6:48 - Vujacic, who I already despise in a mini-Laimbeer sort of way, hits a 2, and the Lakers have cut the lead to 86-82 - and they've done it with Kobe catching a breather on the bench. I hate to say it, because I think Doc has done a terrific job for the most part in the playoffs (hey, at least some of us can admit we've been wrong about him), but these next few minutes might be where the coaching matchup comes into play.

5:30 - Pierce and Rondo back in, and Pierce immediately hits a step-back two. I was beginning to wonder if he was done for the night, but he's at least playing like he's healthy.

4:15 - It's 88-82, Green, but Garnett has clanked his last eight shots. That's inexcusable against Gasol, who plays defense like he's dying for a cigarette break. I agree with Van Gundy: Might be time to get a little bit closer to the hoop.

3:36 - Pierce hits a pair of free throws, then forces Kobe into a tough missed fadeaway. So you're telling me his knee is sprained? Really?

2:57 - I should note that P.J. Brown has been a Silas-like force in the fourth quarter - on one rebound, he dominated Luke Walton so badly that I think poor Luke called him "Dad" - but he was just a step slow on a layup by the recently awakened Odom, Odom converts the 3-point play, and it's 90-85.

2:02 - Gasol wants nothing to do with Brown. He's so skilled, but what a softie.

1:31 - Garnett discovers one effective way to end a streak of nine missed shots - a follow-up slam off a Posey miss. Now that's what you call emphatic, and the Celts are up eight. Might be the play of the game right there.

:16 - I love this version of Ray Allen. He buries both free throws, and the Celts are up 10. At least for one night, L.A. has been beaten.

Quick thoughts in the aftermath: If the Celtics end up winning this series, I'm pretty sure we've just witnessed the defining moment in Paul Pierce's career . . . The Celtics were excellent defensively, while the Lakers often looked disinterested. You wonder if that has something to do with the venue, but I tend to think it's just the teams' respective personalities . . . I didn't mention it much as the blog and game proceeded, but Rondo played a very steady game tonight for the most part. He looked like the veteran while Cassell made the young player mistakes . . . P.J. Brown was terrific. Can't emphasize that enough. But they will need a healthy Perk before this thing is over . . . The Ray Allen Redemption continued for the third straight game: 19 points, 8 rebounds, and a solid job on D . . . If the rest of the games are as dramatic and entertaining as this one, this series will be a classic on par with the ones that have been on ESPN Classic all week . . . Donny Marshall nails it with Cassell: "His game is like the New England weather." . . . The Lakers run the pick and roll beautifully, and they'll shoot better for sure, but the more I saw of Gasol and Odom tonight, the less impressed I was . . . Magic number: 3. Amazing, isn't it?

You know, just in case you're interested in reading about Perk's 34-point, 23-rebound performance in real time . . .

The date was June 8, 1986, and as a certain sequin-adorned singer popular at another Boston sporting venue likes to caterwaul, the good times never seemed so good.

(Bill Greene/Globe File Photo)

The Boston Celtics breezed to a 114-97 victory over villain-of-the-times Ralph Sampson and the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of the NBA Finals that glorious day, securing their 16th championship in 40 seasons, their third of the '80s, and their status as the decade's co-dynasty with the their glitzy opposites from the opposite coast, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Larry Bird, 29 years old and in all of his wispy-mustached, party-in-the-back glory, was at the peak of his powers, averaging 24-10-10 in the Finals and winning the series and regular season MVP awards (his third straight). Kevin McHale, Dennis Johnson, Robert Parish, Bill Walton, and Danny Ainge provided perhaps the most talented and cohesive supporting cast since Dr. Naismith first tacked up his peach basket.

The Celtics went 67-15 in the regular season, 15-3 in the postseason, and 50-1 at home overall. It was basketball as it was meant to be: selfless, breathtaking, freestyled, and aesthetically gorgeous. For fans who arrived in the post-Russell generation, it was as good as the game could possible get.

June 8, 1986. Man, it was lifetimes ago. Len Bias was nine days from having all of his dreams come true . . . and 11 days from snorting it all away. Reggie Lewis, a shy, skinny Northeastern senior-to-be with a sweet jumper and an ominous scar on his heart, was emerging as a talent to be reckoned with on the Huntington Ave. hardwood.

June 8, 1986. So much of the franchise's gloomy history had yet to be made. Charismatic Rick Pitino was finding success was a reality, if not quite a choice, just down I-95 in Providence. Tim Duncan was a 10-year-old in St. Croix harboring Olympic aspirations . . . in swimming.

June 8, 1986. The franchise's next triumphant trio was still in its formative years. Kevin Garnett probably spent afternoon recess terrifying the other Mauldin, S.C., third-graders with his wild-eyed intensity at hopscotch. Walter Ray Allen, a few weeks from turning 11, surely must have been the smoothest-shooting military brat in his class. And 8-year-old Paul Pierce was chubby, Laker-loving daydreamer in Inglewood (always up to no good), spending his childhood in the large shadow of his half-brother Steve, the family's first star athlete.

June 8, 1986. It's the official timestamp on the Celtics' last NBA championship. Four victories from another, it seems appropriate to retrace the steps of the journey.

* * *

In most ways, the Celtics' descent from the delirious high of 1986 didn't occur overnight. In 1986-'87, they won 59 games in the regular season and dumped Detroit in the Eastern Conference finals before losing the championship to Kareem, Magic and the finest Lakers club of the era in six games. No, it was more of a gradual decline, the kind that inevitably happens to franchises that cling to their aging heroes for sentimental reasons rather than trading them off and building anew.

In 1987-'88, the Celtics shuffled another step backward, winning 57 games and falling to the brash, ascending Pistons in the Eastern finals. The next season, Bird suffered a heel injury and played just six games, foreshadowing the premature end of his career after just three more seasons due to injuries.

While the Celtics remained one of the league's better teams until Bird's retirement after the 1991-92 season - they won at least 51 games each season he was healthy - they were no longer among the elite. The obvious became the reality: You just cannot replace Larry Bird.

* * *

(AP Photo)

Yet in a devastatingly tragic sense, their decline was an overnight occurrence.

Nine days after wrapping up the '86 title, the Celtics, due to a typical bit of shrewd dealing and foresight by Red Auerbach, had the incredible fortune of owning the second pick in the NBA draft. With the selection, they chose a chiseled, can't-miss 6-foot-8-inch specimen from the University of Maryland who just happened to grow up dreaming of playing for the Celtics.

It all seemed too good to be true; terribly, it was.

Less than 48 hours later, Leonard Kevin Bias, 22 years old and bursting with potential, was dead of a cocaine overdose. In one night of reckless stupidity in a college dormitory, the Celtics' future, a player so gifted and determined that he drew some favorable comparisons to a skywalking kid named Jordan by their Atlantic Coast Conference contemporaries, had become a cautionary tale for a generation.

Bias was supposed to be Larry Bird's heir; instead, he was gone before he even arrived. His ghost haunted the franchise through the lost '90s and beyond.

* * *

Bird wasn't the first of the '86 gang to bid farewell. Walton hobbled off into retirement after playing just 10 games in the '86-'87 season. Ainge was dispatched to Sacramento midway though the following season in exchange for 14 feet of mediocrity, and his backcourt partner DJ was nudged into a reluctant retirement after the '89-'90 campaign.

McHale, his aching feet by the end a chronic affliction, put his unmatched array of post moves in permanent storage after the '92-'93 season, at age 35. (He would, however, play a significant role in his old team's return to prominence a decade-and-a-half later.)

Remarkably, the Celtic who lasted the longest was the one who always seemed the most indifferent - or perhaps it was amused - when it came to the relative importance of the sport.

Robert Parish, bless his stoic mug, played 21 years in the NBA, finally retiring after earning his fourth championship ring as a member of the '96-'97 Chicago Bulls.

You fooled 'em. You fooled 'em all, Chief.

* * *

(NBA.com Photo)

As the Bird Era wound down and those World Champion '86 caricature t-shirts were tucked away in storage, the Celtics front office did its best to refurbish the roster with young talent. But the Next Generation failed to live up to the promise of its youth.

Dee Brown, the No. 1 pick in 1991, proved an inconsistent flash whose legacy was turning the dunk contest into a sneaker commercial. Brian Shaw, a lanky, bright, multi-talented guard, never seemed pleased to be here and found himself in an unbecoming contract controversy after his rookie season. And the most talented among the kids was felled by another unthinkable tragedy.

On July 27, 1993, Reggie Lewis, just 27 years old, dropped dead from a heart attack after a light workout at the Celtics' practice facility.

Earlier that spring, Lewis had collapsed on the court in a playoff game against Charlotte, and in the hazy aftermath he made the curious and fatal mistake of listening to the lone doctor who told him what he wanted to hear - that his flawed heart wouldn't prevent him from playing basketball again.

All these years later, the heroes and villains in that sordid mess remain difficult to distinguish, but this much we do know: for the second time in seven years, the Celtics lost a wonderful young basketball player - Lewis, an All-Star, a captain, a quiet, admired leader, had been the one to take the reigns from Bird, as Bias was supposed to do.

And once again, so cruelly, Celtic Pride was overwhelmed by tears.

* * *

Following Lewis's passing, the franchise fell into spiral of irrelevance and disrepair; hell, how could it not?

The Celtics became an insignificant afterthought as the NBA became someone else's party (Michael Jordan's, usually) and those who still tuned in to Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn did so for love ofthe game rather than any particular attachment to the unappealing collection of players.

The Celtics' ill-conceived mid-'90s rosters dotted with the likes of Dominique Wilkins, who morphed into an inefficient gunner once his legs were no longer full of lightning, permanently vacationing Pervis Ellison, and Todd Day, perhaps the most unconscionable chucker ever to wear the green and white. (Think Sam Cassell without a single redeeming quality.) First-round picks included Eric Montross (a slow stiff) and Acie Earl (slower, stiffer). Even the venue changed for the worse, the decrepit but forever beloved Garden falling victim to a wrecking ball in '95, replaced by the antiseptic FleetCenter.

The Celtics officially scraped the bottom in 1996-'97, winning 15 games and losing 67 while giving the likes of Brett Szabo and Nate Driggers the opportunity to someday tell their grandchildren they played in the NBA without fibbing.

It was left unsaid by those executing the task, but the motivation for running out a helpless lineup night after night was apparent to anyone who had seen a Wake Forest game that season: this particular savior stood nearly 7-feet tall, possessed the footwork of Gino, featured a deadly old-school bank shot, and was calmly shredding the ACC.

He was the player to resuscitate the franchise for sure. If only a collection of ping-pong balls would cooperate.

* * *

It may not be the most sporting thing to do, of course, but tanking the season to get a shot at Wake Forest's Tim Duncan - the once-in-a-decade franchise big man who was a lock to be the top pick in the '97 draft - was far from a foolish strategy, as coach M.L. Carr just happened to be a natural at losing basketball games.

So perhaps it was karma, or the old adage about best-laid plans, but despite owning two lottery picks - the second coming from Dallas in a deal that involved the Montross albatross - and a 36-percent shot of winning the top pick, the Celtics did not get Duncan.

The moment the draft order was determined, and the cruel realization hit you that those damn fickle ping-pong balls had decided that the San Antonio Spurs, not the Celtics, would be getting Duncan, you undoubtedly howled like Charlton Heston upon realizing Soylent Green was made out of peeeeeeople.

It felt like a kick in the gut from a size-20 Nike, the ultimate test of your faith as a fan, and the consolation prizes - No. 3 pick Chauncey Billups, a guard from Colorado, and No. 6 selection Ron Mercer, a Kentucky swingman - consoled no one. Neither was capable of being the savior Duncan would have been.

Worse, a slick, self-styled savior newly arrived on the sidelines would only prolong the dark ages.

* * *

(AP Photo)

Maybe it wasn't all Rick Pitino's fault. He took the Celtics' job as coach and team president not long before the '97 draft lottery under the reasonable assumption he'd be coaching Duncan; no one should be expected to recover from such a massive disappointment with ease.

But Pitino, whose ego and wallet were both swollen from his enormous success at Kentucky, demanded instant gratification, and when it didn't come beyond a stirring opening-night victory over the World Champion Bulls, he proved to have the patience of a petulant toddler.

Pitino the personnel boss perpetually undermined Pitino the coach. (See: Knight, Travis, $22 million; Potapenko, Vitaly, $33 million; Mills, Chris, $33 million . . . must we continue?) Billups was dealt after just 51 games for overdribbling underachiever Kenny Anderson. Pitino, with typical disingenuousness, suggested he made the swap because Bob Cousy told him Billups would never be a point guard. (Cooz, of course, never likes any young playmaker at first.) Mercer, graceful but lethargic, was gone two years later.

Pitino's one shrewd personnel move - plucking Kansas's Paul Pierce with the 10th pick in the '98 draft - was a gift courtesy of nine other teams' incompetent scouting more than anything, as the future franchise cornerstone slid on draft night for reasons that have never adequately been explained.

(A year later, Pierce was stabbed 11 times outside a nightclub, and it must be noted that he avoided being a Bias/Lewis-level tragedy in large part due to the heroic efforts of teammate Tony Battie, who raced his profusely bleeding friend to the hospital.)

Even Pierce, a star from him first spin move on the parquet, couldn't help Pitino. His inability to win with the players he was providing proved his downfall, and after 3 1/2 seasons, 102 victories, 146 losses and one all-timer of a meltdown, he packed up his Armani suits, his unsold motivational books, and his snake oil, and walked out that door after a January 6, 2001 loss in Miami.

He returned to the lucrative security of the college game, where he's yet to make a bad trade and, to the best of the public's knowledge, there is no salary cap.

* * *

Once Pitino cut his losses, so to speak, the players' attitudes and their place in the standings instantly improved, curiously enough. Under longtime and anonymous Pitino assistant Jim O'Brien, a stickler for defense who in turn gave Pierce and Antoine Walker (a cornerstone who arrived in Carr's final season and possessed an odd array of skills and mostly good intentions) free rein on offense in exchange for their commitment on the other end of the floor, the Celtics went 24-24 the rest of the way in 2000-'01 after a 12-22 start.

O'Brien was promoted from interim coach the following season, which brought the Celtics their greatest recent success until now. Led by Pierce, Walker, and a hardnosed supporting cast (where have you gone, Erick Strickland?), the Celtics emerged as one of the league's pleasant surprises, winning 49 games, ending a six-year absence from the playoffs, and advancing to the Eastern finals, where they pulled off the greatest postseason comeback in NBA history in Game 3, rallying to win in the fourth quarter from a 21-point hole.

But they fell to the Nets in six games, and the unexpected success came a steep price: in an attempt to bolster their roster near midseason, they swapped first-round pick Joe Johnson, whom you may remember from his star turn in the recent Hawks series, to Phoenix for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers, despite the Suns' willingness to accept eventual washout Kedrick Brown instead. Johnson became an All-Star; Delk and Rogers, while valuable contributors that postseason, soon became ex-Celtics.

A year later, the Nets bounced the Celtics a round earlier, and their revival in the weak Eastern Conference proved to be little more than a temporary tease.

* * *

Give Danny Ainge credit - he recognized as much before anyone else did.

It's funny now, but when he was hired as GM and executive director of basketball operations by fledgling owner Wyc Grousbeck in the midst of the 2002-'03 postseason, it was looked at as something of a curious move, a desperate, ill-timed grab for some reflected glory from the '80s.

Ainge did little to silence the skeptics when he traded the maddening but popular Walker to Dallas for passive big man Raef LaFrentz, his public justification being that he believed the team had peaked with that particular core of players.

A season later, O'Brien quit during the season because of a personality conflict with Ainge, and despite occasional success the next few seasons - the Celtics, under new coach Doc Rivers, a friendly rival from Ainge's playing days, won 45 games and slipped into the playoffs in 2004-'05 - serious contention seemed to be seasons away.

But while the results on the floor were mixed, Ainge was proving to be a deadeye when it came to spotting young talent, rarely wasting a pick while finding the likes of Al Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins, Delonte West, Tony Allen, Ryan Gomes, Rajon Rondo, and Leon Powe in the draft.

Little did we know his finest personnel masterstroke was yet to come.

* * *

The irony, of course, is that it took yet another piece of lousy lottery luck to restore the franchise to greatness.

The 2006-'07 Celtics season was their darkest in recent history, worse even than the Tanking For Tim year, which at least had a wink-wink, optimistic vibe to it thanks to the affable Carr. The pall was cast in late October, when the patriarch, Red Auerbach, passed away at 89. Pierce, increasingly frustrated by the relentless losing, injured his elbow and foot and missed 35 games, and the growth of some of the young players, particularly the clueless Gerald Green, proved stunted.

The Celtics lost a franchise-record 18 games in a row en route to a 24-58 record. Again, as they had a decade earlier, the Celtics hoped for some long-overdue luck of the Irish. Again, the ping-pong balls refused to cooperate.

Despite having the second-best odds at landing the top pick (19.6 percent,) and the right to choose between Ohio State redwood Greg Oden or polished University of Texas scorer Kevin Durant, the two perceived franchise players of the draft, the Celtics were stuck with the No. 5 selection.

The lottery deja vu was crushing. And so Danny Ainge went to work to guarantee that he'd never have to depend on the whims of silly plastic balls ever again.

* * *

(AP Photo)

You know how it all played out from here - hell, you've probably replayed it in the TiVo of your mind countless times during this improbably joyous season.

That No. 5 pick, which became Georgetown forward Jeff Green, went to Seattle along with Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak's carcass in exchange for Ray Allen, a 32-year-old sharpshooter with ties to New England and a flawless reputation, and a No. 2 pick that turned out to be Glen Davis.

Allen's arrival not only assuaged Pierce, who openly and justifiably pined for capable veteran help, but it convinced disgruntled Timberwolves icon Kevin Garnett that Boston, which had been coveting him even before the draft, might not be an unappealing destination after all.

On July 31, with Garnett's blessing, Ainge and his old teammate, Minnesota GM Kevin McHale, consummated the deal that would - at last - restore the green and white to its greatest glory since they were still in uniform. Seven players, with Jefferson as the centerpiece, were sent to Minnesota in exchange for Garnett, a 10-time All-Star who played with uncommon intensity and selflessness.

Remember how you felt as you took in that introductory press conference, broadcast live on CSN, watching Pierce, Allen, and Garnett grinning and interacting like it was a reunion of lifelong friends? Remember how you had to keep saying it out loud to convince yourself, to wrap your head around the whole concept - "Holy bleep, Kevin Garnett is a Celtic"?

For the first time in a couple of decades, something that seemed too good to be true wasn't.

Sixty-six regular season wins (the greatest one-season turnaround in league history) and 12 more (and counting) in the postseason later, and it's funny: All those sins of the last 22 years? They are so much easier to forgive.

With four more victories, maybe we'll also forget.

Postgame overreaction while chanting "Beat L-A, beat L-A" for the first time in, oh, 21 years . . .

(AP Photo)

1. Wiping out the despicable Pistons en route to facing the glitzy Lakers in the Finals? What is this, 1987? Nope . . . turns out these are the good old days. In the delightful aftermath of the Celtics' 89-81 victory, we find ourseleves deliriously happy, not only as fans, but for the individuals who make up the freshly minted Eastern Conference champs - Perkins, Rondo, Posey, House, old P.J. Brown, even Doc Rivers, who deserves praise for the way he handled his team in this series. But I'm happiest for the Big 3 - and yes, it's perfectly cool to call them that at this particular moment. Ray Allen showed a champion's resilience, shooting the lights out in back-to-back games after some dopes (ahem) wondered if he should cede playing time after a miserable Game 4. Kevin Garnett remains the fulcrum of this franchise's astounding one-year transformation from 24-win punchline to 66-win beast of the east, his defense and intensity changing the team's entire persona. And of course, we're pleased for Paul Pierce. No. 34 was the best thing about this franchise for the better part of a decade, a legitimate star who never had a running mate better than Antoine Walker until this season. (Think about that for a moment and tell me you wouldn't have begged for a fresh start elsewhere.) Pierce pulled a Cornbread-like "Hop on my back, boys," tonight with an efficient (27 points on 12 field-goal attempts) and disciplined performance, and I imagine his satisfaction tonight feels a lot like vindication. As it should - Pierce deserves this. They all do, for they damn sure earned it.

2. Rajon Rondo's baseline jumper with a little more than 2 minutes remaining was the first time I was truly convinced the Celtics would win. But in my immediate recollection, the game's biggest play was James Posey's backcourt strip of Tayshaun Prince with 1:39 remaining and the Celtics up by 4. Posey's pickpocket brought any momentum the Pistons had screeching to halt, and appropriately, it was the just the type of smart, hustling play he's made all season as the absolutely ideal sixth man for this team. I'll say it once more: Landing Posey as a free agent might have been Danny Ainge's savviest move of all.

FULL ENTRY

Postgame overreaction while basking in the Jesus Shuttlesworth revival . . .

(Getty Images Photo)

1. Though it's not really my perspective, I understand where those old-school Celtics fans who view this particular team with a certain detached admiration are coming from. It's hard to have genuine affection for a team, even one as talented and successful as the one Danny Ainge has put together here, when they're still in the process of establishing their own legacy, becoming familiar . . . becoming ours, really. The 16 previous basketball champions in this city set the bar impossibly high, and with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and even Paul Pierce, we're still in a prove-it-to-us mode. Which brings me to last night, and the first real signs in a while that these Celtics may be capable of living up to such standards. Our optimism isn't buoyed solely by Kevin Garnett's 32-point masterpiece, or Ray Allen's redemptive 29-point breakout, but by the way they accumulated those numbers: Garnett, who was more commanding down the stretch than his reputation suggests, buried a pair of dagger free-throws with 3.4 seconds left, and Allen fearlessly drilled a baseline jumper in the final minutes when the game was in danger of slipping from their grasp. Now that was a classic postseason play, one of those shots where the ball hangs in the air and time seems to freeze just long enough for you to say please-please-please go in . . . and it does. And there you have one of the first signature postseason moments for this team, one that causes even a skeptic's admiration to grow, a moment that, should this team go on to win the championship, will be replayed on the DVR in our minds for years to come.

2. Allen, of course, wasn't the only Celtic starter to enjoy a night of redemption. Kendrick Perkins, with 18 points and 16 (16!) rebounds, was an absolute beast pretty much from the opening tip, and those of us who were calling for Leon Powe to receive some of his minutes are glad to be proven wrong today. I'm fairly certain Bob Ryan would tell you Perk's performance was a page torn right out of the Paul Silas Guide To Proper Power Forward Play. Now let's see if Perkins can take the next step and play that well in Detroit.

3. He's got a long way to go to become the most despicable Piston of all time - Little Lord Fauntleroy still gets my vote, as genuinely great as he was - but after watching weaselly Rip Hamilton apparently blow out his elbow while putting the kung-fu grip on Ray Allen's throat, I'm ready to say he's in the starting five. I couldn't help but wonder, as he was duping Kenny (Look! At My Hair! I'm A Mini-Pat Riley! ) Mauer and the officials with his clutching-grabbing-flopping antics, that Johnny Most would have come up with an appropriate nickname for him back in the day. Probably "The Masked $*%*%**#*#" or something of that sort.

4. While poking around various basketball websites looking for answers as to why supertalented Rodney Stuckey lasted until the 15th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft (ridiculous answers I found: played at a small school, not dazzling athletically, possibly too short to play shooting guard, looks too much like 50 Cent), I noticed he was born April 21, 1986, which happens to be the day after Michael Jordan dropped 63 on the Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. I'm not sure what the point is here, other than that Stuckey is young, I'm old, and it's been a long time since the Celtics won a championship.

5. As for today's Completely Random Basketball Card:

We're going with the late, great DJ today for two reasons: It seems appropriate to remember him after what can only be called the second-most stirring Game 5 playoff victory over the Pistons in Celtics' history, for he was the co-hero in the first. (Seriously, check out the degree of difficulty on this layup again, consider the circumstances, and tell me that's not one of the biggest pressure shots in NBA history.) As for our second reason, reader Mark H. sent along this Where Are They Now? flashback regarding the '86 Celtics from Steve Rushin's blog (Steve Rushin has a blog?), and it was both heartwarming and a little sad to be reminded again of the tremendous respect Larry Bird had for his longtime teammate.

Running a little short on time today - Mrs. TATB and the mini-Finns are on vacation, which means I'm not - so we're going to tweak the Starting Five format for this edition. Today's feeble attempt at basketball insight comes to you in the form of five burning questions regarding your Boston Celtics, followed immediately by our best attempt to answer them. As always, your wisdom is welcome in the comments . . .

1. I suppose Doc Rivers deserves some praise for being a little more disciplined with his bench usage in this series - he finally seems to be grasping the concept of a rotation - but wouldn't Leon Powe's strength and aggressiveness have been a decent counter to Antonio Mickety-Mickety-Mac McDyess last night? I honestly don't get why Powe, who played a Duerod-like 1 minute 17 seconds last night, is buried down there in Scalabrine Land. Even if there's some validity to the insinuations that he hasn't quite mastered the playbook, there's no denying that Powe has been one of the Celtics' most efficient players all season, he plays a physical style that might be the perfect antidote to McDyess's dominance on the offensive boards, and he has a knack for garbage points on a night when the frigid Celtics could have used a few. I'd have given him Big Baby's minutes, and maybe handful of Kendrick Perkins's as well.

2. Have we reached the point where Doc has to consider severely curtailing Ray Allen's playing time? There's no denying it anymore, even for Shuttleworth Apologists such as Donny Marshall and, well, me: Allen has become a legitimate problem, and it's time to start searching for solutions. After his 25-point performance in Game 2, he's been brutal two games in a row, and at this point you have to wonder if his lousy play is now the norm rather than the aberration. Last night, he was 2 of 8 from the field, missed all of his 3-point attempts, and even clanked a pair of free throws when the Celtics were trying to steal the game in the fourth quarter. Right now, Ray Allen can't shoot, and for one of the great perimeter players in the history of the league, that's as bizarre as it is alarming. It's apparent that something needs to change, though I'm honestly not sure what the solution is (and I doubt Doc knows, either). No one wants to see hyperactive Tony Allen on the court in meaningful situations, and I'd just as soon never see Chuckin' Sam Cassell check into a game again. Maybe the best idea is to give Eddie House a little bit more run at two-guard, and see if he can get on one of his hot streaks. Otherwise, sticking it out with Allen might be the best option, as worrisome as that may be.

FULL ENTRY

Getty Images Photo (top); AP Photo (above)

Postgame overreaction from a thoroughly enjoyable Game 3 . . .

1. I always thought the six-game road winless streak to start this postseason was, more than anything, a matter of fluke and circumstance; a talented, veteran team that won over three-quarters of its games away from home during the regular season simply doesn't forget how to win as the visitor. It's about time we finally had some proof to affirm such an opinion, and the Celtics could not have picked a better time to get that gorilla, as Paul Pierce called it in tonight's aftermath, off their backs. Save for a few tense moments here and there - the Celtics' casualness with a double-digit second-half lead nearly allowed a listless Detroit team to get back into the game - they were basically in control from the end of the first period (when they closed with a bench-fueled 10-0 run) to the final buzzer. Perhaps most encouragingly, it was a total team victory; of the three so-called stars, only Kevin Garnett (22 points, 13 boards) played consistently well (and truth be told, Ray Allen was brutal). Yet the defensive intensity rarely waned, six players reached double figures, and even Sam Cassell shook off the rust and made a couple of important contributions. All of that considered, even the most optimistic Celtics fan would have had a hard time imagining this one would go as well as it did.

2. It must be noted that the Celtics wouldn't be up 2-1 in this series without the (playoff) game of his life from Kendrick Perkins, who hit 6 of 7 shots, scored 12 points, collected 10 rebounds, and even knocked down a medium-range jumper. (Maybe he can offer Allen some shooting tips.) Just when I was starting to think that the savvy P.J. Brown should get the brunt of the minutes at center, Perkins submits a performance like this one, and I'm reminded of why his teammates seem to hold him such high regard: he's not the most athletic big fella around, but there are few who work harder.

FULL ENTRY

(AP Photos)

Man, the pregame yapping on ESPN isn't over yet, and I'm already hoping Stuart Scott suffers a career-ending larynx injury by halftime. Where are Ernie, Kenny, and Chuck when you need them? Right. Western Conference. They get all the fun. We get Captain Boo-Yeah and Jon Barry. It ain't right.

Anyway, I'm here, and this should be, well, interesting. I cranked out probably a dozen to 20 live blogs of Sox and Pats games in my 3+ years at the old TATB address, but this is my attempt at doing this for a hoops game. I'm not sure how conducive the sport is to the format - I'm worried the action moves too fast, except when Kendrick Perkins is involved - so I'm just going to try to limit the play by play as much as possible. Like Ray Allen teeing up a 3-ball, I'll take my best shot and hope it hits something.

Two key plot points tonight:

• Chauncey Billups's hammy: He claims he's 100 percent healthy, but his stat line after game one suggested otherwise. If he can't get into the lane, draw fouls, and use his strength to compensate for Rajon Rondo's quickness advantage, Game 2 will go much the same way Game 1 did for Detroit.

• Ray Allen's shot: The Celtics went out of their way to get their struggling shooter going early in Game 1, but he didn't hit a jump shot the entire game and finished with 9 points. I hope Doc Rivers is patient enough to try the same approach again, because I have a hunch Allen is thisclose to busting out of it.

"They'll get up, you gotta hit 'em again . . . they'll get up, you gotta hit 'em again . . . they'll get up . . . " I'll admit it. Doc's pregame speech got me fired up. I just slugged the cat. (He got up. I didn't hit him again.)

Okay, the lights are down, the new Garden is rocking like its beloved predecessor did 20 years ago, and KG's screaming like a maniac from the Jumbotron. Yep, must be a meaningful basketball game in Boston tonight. So nice to have that feeling again . . .

FIRST QUARTER
10:22 - Pierce knocks down a 3 off an Allen feed. Nice shot with a hand in his face, but I almost wish he'd given it right back to Allen there. Pierce likes trying to be the hero out of the gate, though.

7:18 - After Sheed is called for a foul on Garnett, he disputes the verdict with one of his favorite magic words and is slapped with his fifth technical of the playoffs. Dang. In the office pool, I had him getting his first T at 10:12 of the third. Should have known that was too late.

FULL ENTRY

Consider this my pathetic and transparent attempt to make up for having nothing posted after Game 1, but I'll be right here at 8:30 p.m. sharp as KG, The Truth, and the rest of Cs try to improve to 10-0 at home this postseason. I'll also be checking in on the comments from time to time, so be sure to pop in and add your two cents in real time.

(Spokesmodel M.L. Carr was not compensated and does not officially endorse this live blog. Because if he did, he'd be waving a towel.)

(Getty Images Photos)

Postgame overreaction while savoring The Truth's redemption song . . .

1. Whew . . . can we exhale yet? After this one, I think I'm sweating more than Kendrick Perkins. It felt like the Celtics' lead was no more than three points the whole game, and those 48 minutes were more tense than we would have liked - I was secretly hoping for a repeat of Game 7 from Hawks series, though hardly expecting it. But when the final buzzer sounded, the Celtics lived to play another day, thanks mostly to a phenomenal performance by Paul Pierce. The magnitude of Pierce's 41-point outburst can't be exaggerated; ol' No. 34 submitted perhaps the best and certainly the most important performance of his career. It seemed like every time the Celtics were desperate for points, he delivered them, whether it was a 15-foot step-back jumper, a rattled-in free throw, or a nothing-but-net bomb from three. He was a superstar in every sense today, and I do hope this effort at least temporarily silences the ignorant but vocal few who prefer to emphasize the silly negatives of Pierce's career while disregarding how dependable he has been, how there are few pure scorers in his class, how he is a rock of a teammate who usually tried to do the right thing, how he was often the one reason a lousy team was worth watching. You know Pierce deserves this, even as we must concede that the show was nearly stolen from him by the transcendent LeBron James, who scored an easy 45 points and damn near extended Cleveland's season by his own sheer will and unprecedented talent. While Pierce/LeBron didn't quite have the drama and one-upsmanship of Bird/'Nique '88, the duel was undoubtedly a classic, and we'll all remember this game for many seasons to come. Right now, I'm just relieved we'll remember it well.

2. As excellent as Pierce was, this season might be over without a steady performance from the bench, particularly P.J. Brown, who earned every dollar of his salary today with a outstanding stretch of play in the second half in which he scored four straight points, had a tap-back rebound that saved a key possession, and buried a huge jumper with just under two minutes left. And I couldn't possibly have more respect for Eddie House, who lost his minutes to nearly washed-up chucker Sam Cassell, stayed ready when lesser men would have checked out, and came through when his coach got the good sense to call on him again.

FULL ENTRY

The usual postgame overreaction while congratulating Tim Donaghy and Ronnie Milsap on a fine job of refereeing tonight . . .

(Getty Images Photo)

1. Okay, okay, some sour grapes in that intro there. While the Cavs certainly benefited from some home cooking, especially in the final minute - there's no #*$*#** way that was a charge on Paul Pierce, and it never would have been called a charge had the collision been with any other player besides LeBron - there are numerous other reasons the Celtics now face a win-or-see-you-next-season scenario Sunday. They couldn't keep the Cavs off the offensive boards in the first half . . . they weren't aggressive enough driving to the hoop (I'm tired of the Rajon Rondo slash-and-kick - take the layup, kid) and thus didn't get to the line enough . . . they missed a John Starks-like 16 straight shots late in the second and early in the third period during a ridiculous 24-2 Cleveland run . . . and with Paul Pierce (15 points, 6 turnovers) playing sluggishly, they couldn't buy an easy basket when they craved one. Kevin Garnett (25 points) was a rock, and he and his teammates deserve credit for nearly stealing the game after falling behind by as many as 15 points. But in the end it was one more lost opportunity, and once again we're left puzzled as to why a team that won 31 road games during the regular season is still drawing a blank this postseason. I do think they'll win this thing in 7, but I sure would feel better about their place in the current NBA pecking order had they'd done it in 6.

2. As aggravating as it is to watch him flop and whine like his name is LeBron Lemieux, it really is fascinating to watch the Cavs' superstar do his thing over the course of a long series. When his shot is falling, I feel like he will score every time he touches the ball - its downright unfair that someone that big is able to change direction so quickly and effortlessly - and yet he insists on playing selflessly, which turns mediocrities such as Joe Smith and Delonte West into formidable threats. He really is an amalgam of Magic and Jordan, and if he ever develops a consistent midrange jumper, there will be no stopping him. At the moment, LeBron would be pretty easy to root for if the Cavs were facing a different opponent and the refs weren't pulling for him as