Just got back from the game. Voice totally shot. Dead tired. Physically and emotionally tired. Totally worth it.
Paul Pierce had the defining performance of his career thus far. The short list is this game and the record comeback game in the 2002 playoffs. Just an amazing show he put on. Some pundits I heard this week talked about Paul's best days being behind him, but he showed them tonight. He went toe to toe with the new face of the NBA and sent him home in an epic game 7 showdown.
He beat them inside and he beat them outside. He got to the line and he hit shots right in LeBron's grill. But the moment that I will never forget was when Pierce dove on the floor for the lose ball and unleashed a scream of joy when they got the time out call. Pure hustle and desire.
Of course, Paul didn't do it all himself, just most of it. How about Eddie House making all the right moves? How about PJ Brown stepping up and calmly knocking down a critical end of game jumper like he was in the gym all by himself? How about KG grabbing his share of rebounds and continuing to play great defense? How about Doc making all the right moves tonight?! Sure, LeBron finally had the kind of game that we all knew he would eventually, but it wasn't enough.
And how about that crowd? Give yourselves a big pat on the back because the crowd and this fanbase in general are just fantastic. I consider myself proud to be a member of Celtic Nation.
The series was hard fought. In some ways it shouldn't have been that hard. We still haven't won on the road and we still haven't gotten much of anything out of Ray Allen. Those are things to worry about headed into a series with the Pistons. But on the flipside, what if we start winning road games and start getting bigger performances from Ray? That could vault us right into the Finals.
But that's a topic for tomorrow. Today we celebrate one of the best games I've seen in a while and the best game I've ever seen in person. LeBron is going home and we are moving on. It is a great day to be a Celtics fan. Cheers!