Unbelievable? No, believable

June 18, 2008|Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist

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So there was Posey being Posey, but as the Celtics were putting the game away in the second quarter, guess who else was out there. Try Eddie House, who had been a completely forgotten entity for long stretches of the playoffs, and then try none other than Glen "Big Baby" Davis, who was summoned when P.J. Brown picked up his second foul in relief of Perkins, who, naturally, already had two himself.

Between them, House and Big Baby had racked up a combined 15 playoff DNPs. Big Baby had been DNP'd eight consecutive games, not seeing action since Game 4 against Detroit. But the beefy lad from LSU gave his team 14 valuable minutes, laying that big body on Pau Gasol, just as he had put it on luminaries such as Tim Duncan during the regular season.

The Celtics have been about defense all season, as Rivers continually points out. So how about this? One minute into the third period, the Lakers had shot 8 for 30 from the floor and were down by 27 (63-36). What is there to say?

What we had, ladies and gentlemen, was the first six-game sweep in NBA Finals history. The Celtics dominated the three games in Boston, and they absolutely, positively could have won all three games in LA. But isn't it fortunate for the fans that they didn't? How many times do home fans get to see an NBA coach get the Gatorade bucket treatment, as Rivers got from Pierce with 30 seconds to go?

131-92.

That's a score you'll never, ever forget.

Bob Ryan is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at ryan@globe.com.