"Anything Is Possible!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paul Pierce, new star of the 2010 Wheelchair Olympics

Paul Pierce shook off what looked like a terrible knee injury to lead the Celtics to a 98-88 game 1 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.

The Truth went down in the third quarter after teammate Kendrick Perkins stepped on his foot going for a rebound. Pierce crumpled to the floor, clutching his right knee. It looked like the game and the series were over but magically he recovered (and only missed a few minutes of the game) and finished with 22 points.

Boston went on a run as soon as he came back, in fact Pierce hit back-to-back clutch 3-pointers in that spurt. This from a guy who had been carried off the floor (by Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine, who didn't have anything better to do) then pushed in a wheelchair to the locker room. Arthur Blank-the Falcons owner-was in town and he did the honors of pushing after his experience pushing Mike Vick in a wheelchair.

In the constant loop of ESPN drivel and over-reporting, sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya was stationed outside the Celts' locker room where she said Pierce stood on his own two feet. Honestly, you expected her to say that Pierce was dead. It was comically overdramatic in the moment, even more so when you watched Pierce come back and play well.

Kevin Garnett had a team-high 24 points and 13 rebounds, Ray Allen scored 19 points with eight rebounds and five assists while Rajon Rondo posted 15 points, seven assists and five boards.

One of the keys to the game was the play of Boston's bench. James Posey (3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals), P.J. Brown (2 points, 6 rebounds), Leon Powe (4 points, 4 rebounds) and even Sam Cassell (8 points) gave the Celtics valuable minutes.

Perkins also got hurt a few minutes after Pierce. Perk twisted his ankle and missed the rest of the game, finishing with one point, four rebounds and four fouls.

The best player on the planet-Kobe Bryant-had an off-night. He had 24 points (on 9 of 26 shooting) with six assists and four turnovers. Bryant had plenty of decent looks (or at least shots he usually makes) that rimmed out or just didn't fall.

None of the other Lakers stepped up enough. Pau Gasol had 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists while Lamar Odom put up 14 points and six rebounds. Derek Fisher was great in the first half with 13 points but he only had two in the second half. Sasha Vujacic had eight points off the bench but he was two of seven from the floor.

All in all it was an entertaining start to what should be a great series. Boston led 23-21 after the first quarter but LA took a 51-46 halftime advantage.

The third quarter (with all the dramatics) was the key as Boston outscored the Lakers but nine (31-22) and then the fourth quarter was tight defensively with the Celtics scoring 21 and holding the Lakers to 15 points.

Neither team was great on 3-pointers (Boston hit 6, LA had 3) but the Celts made seven more free throws. The biggest stat was rebounds: Boston owned the glass, 46-33.

A victory in game one was important but all the Lakers have to do is win one game on the road in the first two to make it interesting. Having three straight games at the Staples Center is a big advantage for LA (8-0 in the playoffs there) so if the Celtics can win game 2, all they have to do is win one out of three then they'd have two chances to close it out at home.

There's plenty of time to go over all the scenarios as game 2 doesn't tip off until Sunday night.

Paul Pierce and LeBron James in a Duel for the Ages

Paul Pierce picked a good time to have the best game in his NBA career yesterday. Without every one of his points, the Celtics would have been done for the season while the Cavs moved on to face the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Celts beat the Cavaliers, 97-92, in game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the TD Banknorth Garden. Boston led from start to finish but it never really felt like the Cavs were dead since LeBron James had a sublime performance.

Pierce had 41 points, five assists and four rebounds while James had a game-high 45 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Playing without its best 3-point shooter (Daniel Gibson), King James finally went off in a big way but he simply didn't get enough help from the guys around him. It's no coincidence that James had his highest point total in a game that his team lost. Cleveland is at its best when the role players are hitting their shots and making plays. Nobody for the Cavs besides James and Delonte West (15 points) bothered showing up.

Outside of Pierce, Kevin Garnett (13 points, 13 rebounds) and P.J. Brown (10 points, 6 rebounds) were the other Celtics in double figures. Rajon Rondo had eight points, eight rebounds and eight assists while Kendrick Perkins added eight points.

The Celtics also wouldn't have prevailed without the unexpected contributions from Brown and Eddie House (4 points, steal, assist, block in 15 minutes).

Brown hit the game's biggest shot, putting the Celts up 91-88 with 1:21 left in the fourth after an 18-foot jumper. He also had a putback off a Rondo airball and he forced James into a desperation shot (airball) that the Celts corralled.

House had the hustle play of the game in the first half when he outran Wally Szczerbiak to a loose ball in the Cleveland backcourt, dove and tipped it to James Posey (5 points, 6 rebounds), who was fouled. Eddie was all kinds of fired up after sitting so much in the playoffs. He fought with West for another loose ball and fed Brown for the clinching shot.

On the other end of the spectrum is Ray Allen, who is currently decaying before our very eyes. In 30 minutes, Ray had four points (1 of 6 shooting). It got so bad that stubborn Doc Rivers was forced to sit him in the fourth and give minutes to the much more effective House and Brown.

Fittingly, Pierce put the game out of reach when he made both free-throws (11 of 12) to give Boston the final margin. A great free-throw shooter percentage-wise but not someone that could be labeled clutch at the line, Pierce saw the first shot bounce high off the back rim before falling through.

James and Pierce came out shooting in the first quarter and neither ever slowed down. The C's led 18-13 after the first quarter and 50-40 at the half.

Cleveland came out with much more energy than Boston to start the second half and cut the lead to five (73-68) going into the fourth. James' steal of Pierce and fast-break dunk cut the Celts lead to one (89-88) late in the fourth but the C's settled down and made the key plays when they had to.

Most of the team statistics were in the same range but Boston (39-29) had the rebounding edge with seven more assists (20-13).

The Pistons await the Celtics and they haven't played a game since closing out Orlando last Tuesday. Detroit comes to Boston tomorrow night for game 1. The experience edge obviously goes to the Pistons, who have been to six straight Eastern Conference Finals. The Celts will need to win a road game since the Pistons are such a good road team and it's likely that they'll take one at the Garden (most likely tomorrow).

It's certainly not the path the Celtics would have chosen (14 games in the first two rounds) but they've made the Eastern Conference Finals. Chauncey Billups missed the last two games of the Magic series with a strained hamstring so we'll have to see how healthy he is. If he's not 100%, the Celts should be favored. Otherwise, it's going six or seven and you'd have to pick the rested, veteran Pistons.