Celtics thrash Lakers, win 17th title

It was one of the most dominant performances we have witnessed in sports over the past several years. More than that, it was arguably the biggest embarrassment in Los Angeles Lakers' history and one of the proudest in the storied franchise that is the Boston Celtics.

We've seen it all from the Celtics this series. They were locked in a tough battle with the Lakers in game one before finally pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 10-point victory. In game two, Boston was thumping Los Angeles until the Lakers went on a tremendous fourth quarter run to trim a deficit that was once 24 to two. Still, the Celtics didn't panic, and they were able to hold L.A. off for a six-point win. Game three was tight the whole way through, and it wasn't until there was under a minute left that the Lakers finally had the game all but in the bag for an 87-81 triumph.

Then, in game four, the seemingly impossible happened, as Boston did what Los Angeles almost accomplished in game two, rallying back from a 24-point hole to beat the Lakers in their own backyard to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. Los Angeles then blew two big leads in game five (a 19-point advantage in the first half and then a 14-point cushion in the fourth quarter) but was able to hang on to extend the series. After watching game six, one must wonder why the Lakers even bothered, as the Celtics annihilated, obliterated, decimated (and whatever other synonyms for those words there are) Los Angeles 131-92. Yes, that's a 39-point margin, the largest in Boston's Finals' history.

Everyone contributed for the Celtics. Kevin Garnett finally silenced his critics, recording 26 points and 14 rebounds. Ray Allen tied an NBA Finals' record by draining seven three-pointers en route to a 26-point performance (he also set a Finals' record by knocking down 22 threes overall in the series). Rajon Rondo may have been the player of the game, finishing with 21 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and six, yes, six, steals. Paul Pierce scored 17 points, and although he struggled with his shot (he went only 4-of-13), also tallied 10 assists, a demonstration of his unselfishness.

James Posey was perfect off the bench, hitting all four of his field goal attempts (three of them being three-pointers) for 11 points. He also played stellar defense on Kobe Bryant, who we'll get to later. Even Glen Davis and Tony Allen chipped in, and the two may have even put the icing on the cake of the series. Late in the fourth quarter, Davis crossed up several Lakers on a drive and threw down a vicious tomahawk jam. On Boston's next possession, Allen caught an alley-oop pass and put it home with a reverse slam.

Now, for the Lakers. The poor, pathetic, soft Laker team that ironically represents the city of Los Angeles. They were helpless last night. The entire team. Bryant, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher...everybody. Bryant started out strong, burying three three-pointers and scoring 11 points in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the first quarter and even taunting some Boston fans by saying, "Not today." Well, Bryant then did his latest disappearing act, missing his final six threes and finishing with only 22 points (meaning he scored only 11 over the final 42-and-a-half minutes). Oh, and how was his shot selection? Awful as usual, as the MVP (again, what a joke) went only 7-of-22 from the floor to cap off his second consecutive miserable Finals' series (remember how terrible he was against Detroit in 2004?). Oh, and how many assists did the so-called "best player on the planet" have? One.

Sure, Boston's swarming defense played a huge part in keeping Bryant at bay. Still, Bryant simply looked lost. Befuddled. Did Michael Jordan, whom Bryant is ridiculously compared to, ever look like a deer in headlights in a big game? Nope. Never. Bryant, however, looked like that nearly all series long, and it wasn't any clearer than it was last night. Pierce, Ray Allen, and Posey played phenomenal defense on Bryant, as did the interior help. Garnett and Kendrick Perkins did not allow Kobe to get inside all series long. Rondo also harassed Bryant whenever he made one of his hesitant attempts to drive the lane, even ripping the ball out of the MVP's (haha) hands late in the game. But like I said; that wouldn't have happened to Jordan. I can't even picture it.

Then, there's Gasol. Mr. Softie. He always had a reputation for being a bit of a pushover, and he only confirmed that this series. The seven-footer scored only 11 points and turned the ball over five times last night. Rondo tore the ball away from him at least three times in the early going, and Garnett and Perkins simply shut him down the rest of the way. Odom was no better than his frontcourt mate, connecting on only two of eight field goal attempts. And somewhere, Vladimir Radmanovic is still launching rainbow threes that are lucky to even miss gracefully.

And what happened to the heralded Laker bench? Jordan Farmar was the only reserve who did anything worthy of some praise, scoring 12 points and knocking down three from beyond the arc. Sasha Vujacic played scared (as usual), as did Luke Walton and Mr. Tough Guy, Ronny Turiaf. He can take down one of the smallest guys in the league in Utah's Ronnie Price, but once you hit him in the mouth like Garnett, Perkins, and P.J. Brown did all series, he becomes as quiet as a mouse.

It's funny how all of the so-called "experts" gave Boston no chance to win this series, saying Los Angeles should dispose of the Celtics without a problem when it was the other way around the whole time. I am really wondering how in the world the Lakers managed to win two games.