Boston Celtics Win 17th NBA Title

Lakers Lose by a Record 39 Points

Sometimes, it just looks like destiny. Red Auerbach would be proud.

The Boston Celtics went into Game 6 of the NBA Finals in Boston on Tuesday night, June 17, up three games to two over the L.A. Lakers, the team with the third best winning record in the NBA this season. They came out of it with a win and the championship, well deserved for the team that posted the most wins during the regular season.

It's been a heady year for Boston fans. The Red Sox won the World Series in the fall last year. Boston College pulled off an excellent season in college football. The England Patriots">New England Patriots won 17 games in a row and nearly pulled off the perfect football season. Now, the new incarnation of the Big Three has brought another banner to hang from the rafters in Boston.

But it wasn't pretty -- not for the Lakers. For the Celtics and their fans -- it was beautiful. Boston won in a headlong rout, 131-92.

And they broke their own record to do it. The largest margin of victory in a finals game had been 129-96, back in 1965. They beat -- you guessed it -- the L.A. Lakers.

The Lakers came into the game looking to be the first team in the NBA Finals to come back from a 3-1 deficit and take a championship. But the Celtics were not about to let that happen. Not in front of singing, chanting, taunting, rowdy green crowd.

It was Boston's first championship in 22 years. Not bad for a team that only won 24 games last season.

The Big Three put the championship away in style. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen scored 26 points each. Garnett also pulled down 14 rebounds. Paul Pierce, who won the Finals MVP unanimously by averaging 21.8 points per game, scored 17.

According to the New York Times, it took them a while to get there. It took Pierce, the team captain, ten years to get to this point. It took Ray Allen 12 years. Kevin Garnett had to wait 13 years to get his ring. A jubilant Garnett stated: "I just want to say, other than my kid being born, this has got to be the happiest day of my life right now."

Congratulations to the Boston Celtics, the 2008 NBA Champions !!

Source:

Sportsline.com

Howard Beck, "Celtics Rout Lakers, And Boston Cheers," NYTimes.com