Ain't no party like a West Coast party, cause a West Coast party don't stop

Can we just fast forward to June and the trilogy finale of the Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals for the third time in four seasons?

It seems only fitting. Yes, if the Celts get to the Finals this summer, I'm not going to complain about who they're playing (San Antonio would also be fun) but come on, you have to want the Lakers. Unfinished business, right?

The teams met yesterday afternoon at the Staples Center in LA for the first time since last June when the Lakers beat the Celtics in seven games.

This being the NBA, regular game meetings mean zilch (see Boston losing to Phoenix on Friday and the Lakers falling to the Kings-think they both were looking ahead?) but it's always nice to get a win in front of the beautiful people and frauds of LA.

Boston (36-11) came out on top of Los Angeles (33-15) 109-96.

Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 41 points but he also did it without recording one assist. Props to him, that's pretty hard to do.

As the Celts did in 2008, they used more balance and defense (something the Lakers are still allergic to) to take this one. The teams meet again in Boston a week from Thursday and from then on, we have to hope and pray that they do it one more time in June.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 32 points, Ray Allen had 21 points, Kevin Garnett put up 18 points, 13 rebounds and five assists while Rajon Rondo notched 10 points and 16 assists.

The Celtics bench was great mainly thanks to Glen Davis (13 points) and Nate Robinson (11 points).

With the way the Lakers have struggled at times this season, it was still interesting to see it up close. They seem to be in the same boat as the Celtics, they coast through the regular season because it doesn't really matter (except for home court).

When Lamar Odom (15 points) is your most consistent second option, you're probably not going to win a championship, sorry Khloe. Pau Gasol (12 points) looked too European as usual and Andrew Bynum (11 points) is just wasting time until he suffers another knee injury.

Ron Artest (3 points) appears lost and Derek Fisher (5 points, 4 assists) might finally be washed up, those look like the biggest issues for LA since they don't have anybody to pick up the slack in those positions.

The Cs were up 22-21 after the first quarter but the Lakers took a 52-50 lead into halftime. For once, Boston came out strong in the third quarter (27-18) and capped it off with an even more impressive fourth quarter (32-24) as they withstood LA's pathetic comeback attempt ie. getting out of Kobe's way while he took every shot.

Boston shot a season-high 60.3% to Los Angeles' 44.4%. Thanks to Pierce, Allen and Robinson who all made three 3-pointers, the Celts made five more 3-pointers than the Lakers (9-4). LA hit eight more free throws (20-12) which is a no-brainer at home but Boston grabbed 13 more rebounds (43-30). The craziest stat is assists, which the Celts won 34-10, not a misprint. The Cs had seven more turnovers (15-8) and the Lakers scored 13 more fast break points (18-5).

Don't you wish there were more regular season games like this? Ah well. Boston concludes its West Coast road trip with a game in Sacramento tomorrow night. It has trap game written all over it but with such a superior team, the Celts should be able to survive and come home 3-1 on a tough trip.

Tripping balls in the desert

I have never done LSD but I assume it's something like the mess I witnessed last night as the Boston Celtics no-showed in Phoenix, losing 88-71 to the Suns at US Airways Center.

Want bizarre? How about Marcin Gortat scoring a career-high 19 points and grabbing 17 rebounds off the bench. Don't forget mild-mannered Celtics (35-11) head coach Doc Rivers getting ejected in the first half to try and get his team fired up. Haha, didn't work so much. Finally, the night wouldn't be complete without Kevin Garnett (18 points, 9 rebounds) hitting Channing Frye in the balls while the latter took a 3-pointer and also getting tossed from the game.

WTF! It was the end of a long, snow-filled work week so I might have been hallucinating even though I was as sober as a BYU undergraduate. Still, I couldn't believe what I was seeing as the below-.500 Suns (21-24) got whatever they wanted against the helpless Celtics.

It was very strange. Vince Carter scored 17 points, Steve Nash had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Robin Lopez added 11 points and Mickael Pietrus notched 11 points off the bench.

Paul Pierce was the only other Celtic in double-figures with 14 points. Glen Davis left in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and never returned, it was that kind of night.

The good news is that Boston can put all of that nonsense behind them with a strong showing in Los Angeles on tomorrow afternoon as they play the Lakers for the first time since Game 7 of last June's NBA Finals. These two teams and fan bases absolutely hate each other so it should be a good one.

Do they still call traveling in the NBA?

On the surface, with Trailblazers star Brandon Roy out following double knee surgery (yikes) and a 10:30 p.m. start on a Thursday night, there weren't many reasons to watch the Boston Celtics begin their four-game West Coast trip last night in Portland.

However judging by Twitter, I know I wasn't the only one interested since former Celtic and ESPN announcer Bill Walton took over for Tommy Heinsohn the next few games. I was never a huge Walton fan when he was on all the time for ESPN but like a crazy relative or ex-girlfriend, he is great in small doses.

It definitely added some spice to an otherwise pedestrian 88-78 Celtics (35-10) win at the Rose Garden.

Ray Allen led Boston with 18 points, Paul Pierce had 17 points (before leaving late with a knee bruise), Rajon Rondo scored 11 points with six rebounds and five assists while Kevin Garnett was the story with 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Kendrick Perkins also looked really good in only his second game back with 10 points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes.

Without Roy, Portland (25-22) is simply overmatched in the Western Conference. LaMarcus Aldridge (17 points, 16 rebounds) is a nice player but a fringe All-Star in his best possible season. Ageless and underrated Andre Miller had 14 points and seven assists and Wesley Matthews scored 12 points with seven rebounds.

Off the bench for the Blazers, Rudy Fernandez (who could have been a Celtic this summer) put up 11 points with five assists and three steals.

It's too bad this game was a dull one since it was also on TNT and the Rose Garden is quietly one of the best arenas in the NBA. The hipsters of Oregon deserved better damn it!

The Celts won every quarter which always helps. They were up 21-18 after one quarter and 41-37 at halftime. Boston outscored Portland 23-21 in the third quarter and 24-20 in the fourth.

For the game, the Cs shot 46.9& to the Blazers' 36.7%. Boston made one more 3-pointer (5-4) and a whopping 15 more free throws (23-8). Portland pulled down seven more rebounds (49-42), I'll never understand why the Celtics are such a bad rebounding team these days. Maybe that'll improve as Perk gets more minutes.

The Celts had five more assists (21-16) but the Trailblazers made six more steals (13-7) thanks to Boston's six more turnovers (21-15). The Cs had two more blocks (4-2) but Portland outscored them 48-34 in the paint which is hard to explain.

Boston travels to Phoenix tonight to take on the Suns, a team they typically have no problems with. Other than fatigue from last night (always a factor with these old guys), I expect nothing different tonight since these Suns aren't nearly as good as they've been in the last five or six seasons. Shaq is expected to play tonight while Pierce is apparently a game-time decision.

Boston Bruins end strong first half with season sweep of Florida Panthers

It's easy to get caught up in the negativity and the bitter history but can we all agree that the Boston Bruins (first place in the Northeast Division, four points ahead of Montreal) had a great first half of the season?

The Bs (28-15-7) put a punctuation mark on their 50th game-the last one before the All-Star break-with a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers (22-22-5) last night at the TD Garden.

Boston swept the four-game season series vs. Florida. If the regular season ended today, the Bruins would be the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

It was fitting that Boston's biggest surprise offensively and best goal-scorer so far this season, both tickled the twine.

Brad Marchand scored his 13th of the season at 13:31 of the first period when he wrapped around Florida's net and just squeezed it over the line before Panthers goaltender Tomas Vokoun (33 saves) could grab it. Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara assisted on the goal.

Milan Lucic continued to have the hot touch, putting in his 20th goal of the season at 1:52 of the second period. David Krejci, who left briefly with an injury, assisted on Looch's snipe that beat Vokoun high and to the side.

It looked like Bruins goalie Tim Thomas would wrap up his absurd first half with yet another shutout (would have been his eighth) but Panthers defenseman Bryan Allen beat him off a rebound at 8:37 of the third period. Radek Dvorak (haha poor guy has always been a Panther) and Darcy Hordichuk (awesome name) assisted on Florida's lone goal.

Chara and Thomas are off to Raleigh for the All-Star game this weekend and Tyler Seguin will play in the youngsters contest. Everyone else will get some well deserved rest as they gear up for the stretch run and the postseason.

Boston goes to the Carolina Hurricanes in their first game back from the break on Tuesday night.

Perk returns as the Celtics eviscerate hapless Cavaliers

As long as they took care of business last night at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers (a nightmare of a team that had lost 17 in a row), the Boston Celtics would be able to punch in and check out on time in one of the most pointless contests of the regular season.

However, this largely meaningless exhibition took on plenty of meaning as right before game-time Twitter blew up with the surprise announcement that Celtics center Kendrick Perkins would return to the TD Garden parquet.

Riding the wave of emotion and momentum with their true center back, the Celts (34-10) rolled to an easy 112-95 win over Cleveland (8-37).

Semih Erden (8 rebounds) started but a few minutes into the game, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers put in Perk and he rightfully received a standing ovation. He only played 17 minutes but Perkins put up a respectable seven points, six rebounds and three assists.

Everybody knows that Perk's game is about defense, toughness and presence inside, things that usually don't pop out on a box score or in stat sheets. One of the great unknowns in Boston sports from the last decade is whether the Celtics would have won Game 6 in last season's NBA Finals or Game 7 with a healthy Perk.

Whatever the case, it was great to see him back and contributing. It was the first time this season that Boston's starting five was intact and it was thanks to Kendrick's remarkable rehabilitation from a torn ACL.

Other than Rajon Rondo (11 points, 10 assists, 4 assists), the rest of the Celtics veterans got to sit for much of the second half. Paul Pierce scored 24 points, Ray Allen added 18 points and Kevin Garnett had 10 points.

The cumulative effect of having a healthy starting five was that Boston's bench suddenly looks much more versatile and deep (funny how that works). Nate Robinson and Glen Davis both scored 11 points while Von Wafer had 10 points and Luke Harangody notched eight points.

Marquis Daniels was out due to a family emergency but he's expected back tomorrow night.

I would never say this but you almost have to feel bad for the Cavaliers. Yes, LeBron had the right to leave their miserable city but he really left the franchise in a bad place that will be tough to crawl out of for years.

A guy named Christian Eyenga (that I'd never heard of) led Cleveland with 15 points. Ramon Sessions added 14 points and seven assists, J.J. Hickson had 12 points and 17 rebounds while Antawn Jamison put up 11 points.

Manny Harris scored 14 points off the bench for the Cavs while Joey Graham and Samardo Samuels each had 10 points.

The Celtics depart for a tricky four-game West Coast trip beginning tomorrow night at Portland. After that they go to Phoenix on Friday, face the Lakers for the first time since the Finals on Sunday then end it in Sacramento on Tuesday. 3-1 is my hope but 2-2 is definitely possible.

Boston Bruins blanked in LA-LA land by enigmatic Kings

The Boston Bruins very rarely play on the West Coast so obviously they treated last night's game late-night action in Los Angeles like an exhibition game, losing 2-0 to the Kings at the Staples Center.

It's hard to believe or explain but Los Angeles has now beat Boston five straight times. It was also the first time in more than a month that the Bruins were shut out.

Despite being in last-place in their stacked division, the Kings (26-22-1) should be better with their talented roster of scorers, young stud defenseman and a quality goalie.

It looked like a game from last season, with minor differences. Tim Thomas (32 saves; 23-5-6) was in goal instead of Tuukka Rask but the Bruins (27-15-7) struggled to get any pucks past Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick (34 saves; 5th shutout; 21-14-1).

Ryan Smyth gave LA a 1-0 lead at 10:50 of the first period with a power play goal (his 18th of the season) from Jarrett Stoll and Drew Doughty. Smyth was in the right place at the right time, banging in a rebound from just outside the crease.

Shawn Thornton got into his 11th fight of the season, later in the first period. He traded bombs with Kyle Clifford but unfortunately it didn't seem to fire up the Bruins.

Rookie Andrei Lokitonov scored his second goal of the season at 3:30 in the third period. It was another juicy rebound that fell right to Los Angeles. Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar assisted on the goal.

Boston finally woke up in the third period, outshooting LA 14-9 but it was too late to salvage anything on their two-game road trip.

The Bs come home to face the Florida Panthers tomorrow night. It's the last game before the All-Star festivities this weekend. A dream scenario for Boston is to get Rask a win while also seeing some of their struggling forwards like Nathan Horton or Tyler Seguin get on the scoresheet, giving them some confidence heading into the break.

Boston Celtics lose a disgusting game to the Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards are an awful team. They had no business beating the Boston Celtics last night in DC except for the fact that the Cs (33-10) went ice cold in the second half (27 points) and the Wizards (13-29) made all the plays, like a banked in 3-pointer by rookie point guard John Wall (16 points).

Washington won 85-83 at the Verizon Center as Paul Pierce (12 points, 8 rebounds) had a chance to put Boston up one late with a jumper but it was long.

This game doesn't have any deeper meaning and there's no cause for panic since the Celtics had won five in a row coming into last night. It was just frustrating to see a garbage team, filled with scrubs like Rashard Lewis (18 points, 11 rebounds), JaVale McGree (16 points, 3 blocks) and Andray Blatche (11 points) make all the plays.

Don't get me wrong, I love Wall and I think his dance that he invented at Kentucky is one of the funniest things I've ever seen but he didn't do anything special last night. He runs up the court 100 MPH and then tries to pass back or do other things which you simply can't get away with in the NBA. I know he'll have a good career but let's not go overboard yet.

Kevin Garnett led the Celts with 17 points, Ray Allen had 16 points, Rajon Rondo notched 13 points and nine rebounds while Semih Erden started and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Boston put it on cruise control way too early (sounds familiar huh?) as they led 35-20 after one quarter (they were up by as much as 16 right away) and 56-46 at halftime. Washington played well in the third (24-16) and put it away with a bad high school girls fourth quarter (15-11). Yuck.

I'm not going to bother going through the numbers of this ugly affair since it was one of the worst games Boston will play all year and I'd rather not relive it.

The Celts host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night to face the NBA's worst team. If they do anything but beat the shit out of that mess of a team, it'll be a joke.