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It's over. The Celtics are back where they belong. On top of the world. And so am I.

It's going to be a long time before tonight's game gets erased from the record books.

Been getting a bunch of texts throughout the game and I kept telling everyone the same thing. I feel like I just won the lottery.

Celtics win and everything I've ever written about Danny Ainge (except for maybe this) gets affirmed. Thank you Danny. This was all because of you.

The Celtics were the first sports team I ever started rooting for. My grandfather Kenny, who died earlier this year, started me down this path. He was a fan so I became one too. There was no other option. They've pretty much sucked since I started college (I remember Alonzo effing Mourning hitting that jumper in the playoffs my freshman year to send them home in the first round) but that has made tonight (and this season) so much sweeter.

I was never a Michael Jordan fan, so that time period was tough for me to follow. It was Paul Pierce that made me fall in love the the Celtics and the NBA all over again. And for him to go through everything he's endured during his career, it makes me so happy for him. After PP got stabbed in 2000 and made his comeback (honestly, he never went away) I kept telling everyone that would listen that Paul Pierce was atonement from the Basketball Gods for Len Bias and Reggie Lewis. Deep down I knew that he wouldn't have made it through that ordeal if there weren't bigger things in store for him and the franchise. It took some time and a rotating cast of teammates, but we finally got to the finish line.

And to see your favorite basketball player on the planet become the best basketball player on the floor in the NBA Finals for all the world to see? That's special.

All the time I spent on celtics message boards for the last five years talking about the team, the money I spent on the NBA package so I could watch them every night when they were going 30-52 or whatever it was, all the money I spent seeing them in Boston, in L.A. and here in D.C. It was all worth it.

The Boston Celtics are NBA Champions again! And I got to see Game One in person! We came a long way from this.

Time for me to pop some champagne.

I just realized that the Boston Celtics are trying to win the franchise's 17th title on June 17th.

Good omen?

I certainly hope so.

We had our chances but couldn't put the Lakers away tonight. The three three's Ray missed late in the third and the two free throw's KG missed in crunch time and the missed tip-in at the end really hurt. The Lakers didn't play great but they got the job done. Some sloppy play down the stretch on our part didn't exactly help. I think we need mo' Powe in Game Six.

The phantom fifth fouls on PP and KG surely don't help the whole "the NBA is fixed" mentality out there right now.

Lost during the euphoria of "The Comeback" was this incredible move by Ray Allen with around 3 minutes left in the game. Watch how he goes up for the shot, pulls it down when he sees Pau coming, goes back up and pulls it down because of the rim and then lays it up on the other side while avoiding the block from Lamar Odom. I'm not necessarily surprised that Ray Ray isn't getting more props for this move, but if it was Kobe that did this, they would still be showing the replays. Just sayin'.

Hell Yeah!

That was some great defense by "The Machine," huh? Ray Allen ate your lunch, punk.

Did you hear PP after he made his first free throw with 48 seconds left?

"Ice."

"I want it."

Can't wait until Sunday. One win away from # 17.

Hahahahahaha. [via]

It was a lot closer than it needed to be (focus guys, focus!) but we're still heading to L.A. up two game to none. I wonder if this wasn't the best case scenario for Boston though. No way they can be happy with this win, no matter how well they played through the first three quarters. I don't see complacency setting in here. But I'm still waiting for Kobe to go crazy. Look for the Lakers to try and push the tempo out in L.A.

PS - Leon Powe!!!

At some point in the very near future I hope to put my experiences from last night -- which, going forward, will officially be known as "One of the Greatest Nights of My Life" -- into words. What I can remember of it anyways. I spent most of the night KGing as much as possible, yelling "Beat L.A." with all the other people dressed in green and all the while downing, not drinking - downing, beers as fast as possible. But that recap will not come tonight. I have driven over 1,000 miles in the last 48 hours and I face another 700 this weekend as I head to NC for a wedding. Sigh. My friends need to move closer to me. Or stop getting married during the NBA Finals.

For the record, even though the first half was close, I knew we were going to win. We had a good omen at the bar. I was sitting right next to Gerald Henderson, Sr. (you remember him, right?) and his son, Junior. Best Evs.

And we're off. NBA Finals, here we come! Sever weather be damned.

Here's what my view will look like tomorrow night:

Related:
Bob Ryan layeth the smack down on the Sports Guy.

Bob Ryan's Top 10 games from the Celtics-Lakers rivalry.

NBA.com's Top 20 Celtics-Lakers Finals Moments.

Ranking The Best Players Of The 2008 Playoffs.

Go Celtics!