"TUESDAY'S BEST -- Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen: The trio began the season known as GPA, the Boston three party and the big three. They end the season known as world champs."
When you took Paul, Kevin and Ray out of the game with 4:01 remaining, could you sort of talk about that? Was that something you had planned all along? Was it an impromptu decision? How did that play out? Well, I thought about it a minute before that, and I just thought they came in as a group, and I thought we should take them out as a group. So I did think about it right before I did it.
You know, I refused to allow [team officials] to give me any plans. They all wanted to sit me down and talk about parade plans, and I told them I didn't want to hear about it. I didn't want to talk about it. So really I was unprepared for anything at the end of the game.
It's probably sweeter that way.
And when they came off, what was said? Just we loved each other. They all said "thank you," and I said "thank you" back. Paul, obviously we ... it's just so sweet. He just kept saying "thank you, thank you, thank you for sticking with me again," and I kept saying the same thing to him.
"No smoking laws were waived in the New Garden when NBA commissioner David Stern presented the Larry O'Brien Trophy to Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck at 12:03 this morning.
"Someplace, Red is lighting up a cigar," said Stern.
"This win is for Red Auerbach," said Grousbeck."
"They are not your old man's Celtics. No black canvas high-tops. No cigar smoke wafting toward the Garden rafters from the Boston bench. No behind-the-back passes from Cooz, and no Larry Legend smashing his face on the parquet floor. But the 2007-08 Boston Celtics are champions of the world, worthy successors to the men your dad always told you about."
"I trailed Pierce as he left the locker room and made the walk to the postgame interview area, the unmistakable scent of champagne emanating from his soaked jersey and cap.
But that's not the smell I'll forever associate this night with.
Instead, it's the smell of a cigar -- the source of which I'll never truly know, even though a part of me will always suspect it came from an area just above the Celtics' end of the court, right where Red Auerbach's spirit was floating."
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