Laker players, coaches and fans packed Jerry Buss's cathedral to modern sports hoping to continue with a second consecutive win and further their resurrection against the hated Boston Celtics. In on of the most stunning turnarounds in NBA championship history and one of most painful losses in Laker playoff history, a Celtic team that was too tough, too good at what they do and too determined not to lose took one of the best playoff games the Lakers played all year and twisted it into a grotesque final requiem mass on the Lakers 2008 title hopes.

The Lakers who swept through the West like a finely oiled thresher machine cutting down wheat finally showed up belatedly in game four. This was the team that cut down Denver, out scored Utah and humiliated San Antonio.

The LA Lakers came out on fire and determined to put this to bed fast and send a message. Odom, Kobe and Fish all drove to the basket drawing fouls in the opening minutes. Lamar Odom played like a man who had missed the first three games with the flu and had finally found himself with a weeks worth of pent up energy. Before you knew it, Odom was three for three, attacking the basket like there was no tomorrow.

The Lakers pulled out the whole bag of western playoff tricks, running, passing, dunking, playing inside out. When Vlad hit a three, the Lakers were up 20-6 and for the first time in 6 games this year against Boston we had broken their defense and bent them to our will. The Lakers 21 point lead at the end of one was the largest in NBA championship history and accurately reflected what was happening on the floor.

In the second, with the bench in, Phil did not repeat his mistake of game and left one starter in-Pau-to keep things a little more comfortable for the bench players. At this point Trevor Ariza gave a brilliant tour de force in what real "energy" play is all about. A block, a dunk, a three, a steal, a rebound. Before you could blink this young man had 6 points and 5 rebounds and given a mouth watering display of what the future holds for this 22 year old Laker.

When Lamar Odom drove to the hole he was seven for seven and we were flying. The Lakers showed how impotent Bostons hopes were by deflecting a 12-2 Boston run and with a Farmar three at the buzzer we took an 18 point lead into the locker.

In the first half, the Lakers were a work of art; attacking the basket, passing, scoring, running, rebounding and defense. It was the best the Los Angeles Lakers had looked all year.

In the third quarter, the Celtics came out a beaten team determined not to be beaten; not on this night, not by this Laker team. The decline was slow, insidious. The lead dropped by a few, then a few more. No one really felt it would last. Like in the first half when Boston pushed, the Lakers perfect offense would crank back up and the inevitable lead would grow. No one felt it would last but a Celtic team that knows how to grab your throat and not let go till have nothing left to give, no where to turn.

A 21-3 Celtic run was capped by a PJ Brown dunk over Pau at the end of the third.

By the forth, the Lakers will was visibly broken. Like in the previous five games against them, they looked caught in the type of nightmare you keep trying to wake up from but can't; attacking the basket became harried jumpers, running became stagnation, rebounding and defense were now the perview of the Celtics.

As the LA Lakers missed 20 of their last 26 shots, the dream of a 15th title died a little more on each futile offensive possession. With each defensive breakdown, the Celtics dream of a 17th title congealed and hardend from the the slippery quagmire of their first half into the dry firmament of the second half.

On the final Celtic score, Ray Allen waved everyone off and took Sasha one on one to the hole. It was a metaphor for the whole series. Ray was the better player than Sasha, Ray was more confident than Sasha, Ray imposed his will on Sasha, Ray won the battle with Sasha. So it was on that singular play between two players and so it was over the series between the two teams.

By taking on the Lakers who we saw in the West playoffs, by taking the Lakers best and most ferocious shot they threw at any team in this post season and comming back from 24 down to win for the fifth time in six meetings this year, the Celtics made an emphatic and unequivical statement: This is no team winning on "fake" ankle injury heroics. This team is not winning on "bad calls". They are not winning on some nebulous "manipulations", "cheating" or some "weirdness".

The Boston Celtics are winning this series because they are better at what they do than we are where these things are always decided: On the court, team against team, will against will, talent against talent.

The Celtics are winning this series because in five of six meetings this year, they have made Kobe Bryant a human being and not Superman. The are winning because in five of six meetings this year, they reduced the high octaine v-8 offensive engine of the Lakers to a four cylinder ecomomy car. The are winning because in the end, as the game goes through all four quarters, they execute their defense better than we execute our offense. They win because on every night, they have another hero who steps forward to give invaluable help in a win: Cassell, Powe, Posey. The Lakers have players who can't take that challenge: Luke, Ronny. They are winning because they are tougher, rebound better, will die to beat you. They win because when the rubber hits the road, they are mentally harder and take the pressure better than the Los Angeles Lakers. The are winning because they bend our will to theirs and enforce their style on us. They are winning for the reason that all teams win a championship-they are the better team.

Some thoughts that struck me: Why did Phil keep Derek and Lamar on the bench down the stretch? I guess he wanted Vlad in to spread the floor, but Lamar was a monster and deserved to be there at the end. Why did he have young Jordan in there instead of D Fish? When Jordan missed that open three near the end I thought of it again. When the Celtics get their defense really going, the Laker offense is no match at all.

Pau had one of his better efforts......but even with that four plays stuck with me as I watched. In two instances he had perfect inside position for easy scores. The ball got to him and ....it pops out of his hands then out of bounds. On both plays he looked like he was sleeping, not ready for the passes. On another play, he went up soft again to the basket and got his shot easily rejected. As the announcer said at the time, he had to go for it, draw the foul, not feather it up there. As we fought to regain the lead before it was too late, I thought alot about how much those six points would have changed the final minutes. Paus lack of defensive switch on Allen when Sasha had dogged him so hard also hurt like hell. He could not and should not let Ray just drive in there and get that layup. Pau is an intregal part of this team but it will be nice to see him moved back out to forward next year. I hope so much Drew never has to miss alot of games again.

Trevor Ariza showed Ronny Turiaf and Laker fans in his incandescent cameo tonight what real "energy" is. Real energy translates into posative production like points, steals, blocks and rebounds. Energy impacts a game. Ronny Turiaf does not have energy. He has enthusiasm. There is a big difference. Enthusiasm is screaming, yelling, high fiving and jumping around. While its nice to have enthusiasm, it does nothing to help your team win. If Ronny Turiaf ever wants to become any kind of player in this league and have any posative impact for this team, he needs to change his enthusiasm to energy. Right now he is as useless as Luke Walton. Maybe more so.

There will be another game, maybe more before the final denoument and trophy presentation, but the Lakers 2008 championship hopes officially dried up with that 24 point lead. It actually ended months ago, on the night Andrew Bynum wrecked his knee.

Dreams die hard, and so do teams. I hate losing to Boston but unlike Magics 1990 championship loss tp the Bulls, I don't have a feeling of finality. Instead I feel like I did in 1984 when we last lost to Boston; that the future is ours. After 1984, no Celtic fan rooted harder for Boston to return to the finals than I did. It was because I knew we would win it the next year and I wanted them and only them.

Next year I will repeat that pattern for the same reason. I will root for Boston with all I have to make it back. I want them and only them...