They didn't stick around to watch the commissioner present the gold-ball trophy to Wyc and Pags. They skipped the scene with Bill Russell hugging Kevin Garnett. They were back on the beach long before the duck boats rolled through the Back Bay.
But how can these Los Angeles Lakers ever forget the sight of Tony Allen flushing a reverse dunk with 1:22 left to make the score 129-86 in the sixth game of the NBA Finals? It was embarrassing and humiliating. And it was just eight months ago.
Tonight the Lakers are back in the Garden. It's got to feel like revisiting the place where you totaled your sports car five minutes after peeling out of the dealership. Frightening flashbacks. Like Buckner walking into Shea.
This is the place where something bad happened.
It's an NBA event, as big as any regular-season game. The Celtics and Lakers meet only twice (pre-playoffs), and Boston's annual
Hall of Famer Bill Walton, enjoying a solid second act as a television analyst (and proud dad of Lakers forward Luke Walton), watched the Christmas special from home, just as he will tonight in Southern California.
"[Rajon] Rondo did not play well in that game in Los Angeles and he is such a critical component," said the man who won a ring with the Celtics in 1985-86. "The Celtics were playing great ball at the time, just as they are now. They went into a two-week funk after that game when nobody was contributing. The second string, particualry Big Baby [Glen Davis], has to have an impact on every game for them. The Celtics just started that game way too slow. You're going to have to play great to beat the Lakers on any court."
Order has been restored to the universe since the Scroogey Christmas. The Celtics come into tonight's game with a 12-game winning streak and the best record in the NBA as the basketball world braces for (hopefully) yet another Boston-LA championship series in June.
