After 22 years, the NBA has gone green again. The Celtics concluded a crazy rebound of a season with an amazing 131-92 blowout over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 last night. The Celtics won their 17th NBA title and a first one for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, a  Big Three for a new generation. Garnett scored 26 points with 14 rebounds, Allen scored 26 and Pierce, the finals MVP who shook off a sprained right knee sustained in game one. Boston’s 39-point win surpassed the NBA record for the biggest margin of victory in a championship clincher; the Celtics beat the Lakers 129-96 in Game 5 of the 1965 NBA finals.

The Boston Celtics so close to claiming the N.B.A. title on the Lakers’ home court. But the Lakers used the power of their veterans as the evening went on and pulled out a 103-98 victory that extended the finals for at least another two days and sent the series back to Boston.

The Celtics now have two chances to take the title at TD Banknorth Garden, starting with Game 6 on Tuesday, when the Lakers will try to delay their victory once more. The Celtics’ disappointment was offset by the security of a 3-2 lead in the series, and their 12-1 playoff record at home. The Celtics need one win for their 17th title. The Lakers need two wins for their 10th in Los Angeles, and 14th over all.

The Los Angeles Lakers have made the NBA Finals for the very first time after beating the 2007 champs the San Antonio Spurs 100-92, winning a best-of-seven series 4-1. Kobe Bryant was the star of the night, scoring 36 points as the Lakers came back from a 17 point deficit to take home an eight point victory.
Pau Gasol contributed with a 12 points and 19 rebounds while Lamar Odom got 13 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers, who will play the winner of the Celtics/Pistons series, which currently has Boston leading 3-2. Game six is in Detroit tonight. Tony Parker was the top scorer for the Spurs with 23 points, while Tim Duncan added 19. However, these were the only scorers of note as the Spurs sputtered towards the end.

The Los Angeles Lakers are just one win away from the NBA Finals after sending the San Antonio Spurs to their first home loss of the playoffs. Kobe Bryant collected 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who never trailed once last night and kept it up for a 93-91 victory. Brent Barry missed a contested 3-pointer for the Spurs as time expired. The Lakers have a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals and can advance to the NBA Finals against Boston or Detroit with a home win against the defending champion in Game 5 tomorrow. Tim Duncan had 29 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Spurs, while Tony Parker and Barry took 23 points each. Manu Ginobili, after scoring 30 points in San Antonio’s Game 3 win, was held to 7 points on 2-of-8 shooting.The Lakers have a 7-0 record at the Staples Center during the postseason and hasn’t lost at home in two months.

The Celtics host the Pistons tonight in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. The teams are tied at two games apiece.  Boston is 9-1 at home and 1-7 on the road in this year’s playoffs. Boston has survived two big close calls in the first round and semifinals. They knocked out the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in seven games in the quarterfinals and hung on to defeat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in an even closer seven-game series. There’s a lot of playoff history between these two teams. Boston defeated the Pistons in the 1968, 1985 and 2002 semis, and also knocked out Detroit in seven games in the 1987 East finals.

Regardless of the fact that the Detroit Pistons missed 64 percent of their shots and had a rookie filling in for an All-Star point guard, they still managed to set an NBA playoff record with just three turnovers and make enough shots to advance to their sixth straight Eastern Conference final with a 91-86 win Tuesday night over the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of the second-round series.

The Pistons are the first franchise to play in six conference finals in a row since the Los Angeles Lakers went to eight straight in the 1980s.

The Pistons will have a break before facing the Boston Celtics or Cleveland Cavaliers and that will help Chauncey Billups , who missed two straight games with an injured right hammy.

It was a bad scene for the Mavericks in New Orleans Arena last night, as they got their asses handed to them by the Hornets, who totally outperformed the Mavs on every front. Chris Paul once again was unbelievable with 32 points and 17 assists as the New Orleans Hornets waxed the Mavericks, 127-103. In the last three halves, the Mavericks have given up at least 60 points. They ran into a hot-shooting Hornets team Tuesday. But it didn’t excuse the Mavericks’ play, which was coma-like to say the least. This is the Mavericks fourth-worst playoff loss in their history. One of the three worse was a 25-point debacle in the Game 6 clincher last year at Golden State.
Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points, and has now said (made the excuse) that coming home for Games 3 and 4 will give them a much needed advantage. Only twelve times in NBA history has a team come back from a 2-0 hole to win a best-of-seven series.