If Game 4 was The Devastation Game, Game 6 was The Demolition Game. The Celtics demolished the Lakers in every way imaginable. The box score looks like it came from a video game where the Lakers’ were being operated by a gamer with a broken controller.

The Celtics won the battle of the boards 34-27 (14-2 offensive rebounds). They won the turnover battle 19-7, including a record 18 steals. They shot 50 percent from 3-point range, including a record-tying seven treys from Ray Allen. They held the Lakers to 42 percent shooting, while shooting 49 percent themselves. They were 32-of-37 at the line. They had 33 assists to their 43 field goals. The Lakers had just 16. And, most emphatically, they beat the Lakers 131-92 in an NBA Finals series-clinching game. If ever there was a game where one team wanted it more, this was it. And the Celtics were that team, demolishing the Lakers from the second quarter on.

The win was not shocking. Boston outplayed Los Angeles for most of this series with suffocating defense and timely offensive contributions from players up and down their roster. The blowout was a surprise, however. The Lakers went down without a fight as a four point game at the end of the first quarter quickly got out of hand.

The Celtics defense was unrelenting in Game 6, and it was the team’s calling card throughout the series and the season. In each game of the series, Boston held the Lakers to less than 20 points in at least one quarter. And the scoring droughts the Lakers suffered were never countered with defense of their own.

Defense wins champions may be a cliché, but it’s also a reality for the Boston Celtics in 2008. They made Kobe Bryant look pedestrian. They made the triangle offense stagnant. They made a flashy, fun-to-watch Lakers team look like a team playing a disjointed playground pick-up game rather than an NBA championship series.

As a Lakers fan, my mind is trained to focus on what the purple and gold did wrong, but after a demolition effort like the Celtics laid on them in Game 6, I have to be equally, albeit painfully, complimentary for the Celtics’ role in making the Lakers play out of character all series long. So congratulations to the Boston Celtics for winning the 2008 NBA Championship.

And on a personal note, I finally have a reason to justify my innate feelings toward the Celtics and Boston sports fans at large. Now I can connect with generations of Lakers fans. Congratulations, Celtics. You’re now up there on my mantel with the Yankees, Patriots, Buckeyes and Broncos. Yes, now I really hate the Celtics.

• The Celtics are +11 points in the series, but with the exception of Game 1, every game in the series has been decided by 6 points or less.

• Kendrick Perkins is not typically going to fill up a stat sheet, but his presence in the paint bothers the Lakers’ offense and rebounding. If he can’t go in Game 6, that’s a boost for the Lakers.

• James Posey is the type of player every championship team needs. He does all the little things in terms of key rebounds and pesky defense, and he always seems to hit dagger shots at opportune moments.

• Chris Mihm should not see another minute of action in this series unless he’s matched up against Brian Scalabrine in garbage time.

• Kobe Bryant has yet to have a breakout game this series. This worries Lakers fans, but it has to scare Celtics fans even more.

• Doc Rivers is winning the coaching matchup with Phil Jackson through five games, simple as that.

The 2008 NBA Finals begin tomorrow night between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. The Lakers have lost just three games this postseason. They are not going to lose four of the next seven. Here are 14 reasons – one for each Lakers championship – why I’m picking the Lakers to win the series.

1. Killer instinct
No one has put teams away like the Lakers in this postseason. In closeout games, the Lakers are 3-0, which includes series clinchers on the road against Denver and Utah. Their ability to finish teams is even more impressive considering their relative lack of playoff experience.

2. Offensive fluidity
The triangle offense is clicking right now. The Lakers are the best passing team in the league. With Gasol and Odom in the 4 and 5 spots, they have five capable passers in their starting lineup, making them extremely difficult to defend.

3. Balanced attack
Kobe won his MVP because he was able to do this thing this season more easily than any year since Shaquille O’Neal was traded. The talent around Kobe is what makes this Lakers team so dangerous. Number 24 is the known entity. Watching different players step up each night around him is what catches other team’s off guard.

4. Education
Phil Jackson may have some unorthodox methods, but no one teaches a profound lesson quite like Phil Jackson. His basketball schooling is unmatched by any other coach in the league, and his wisdom has helped many of these young Lakers mature quickly.

5. Boston’s road woes
If the Lakers are able to steal one of the first two games on the road, the Celtics are in serious trouble of losing the series in five games. Since the Lakers have only lost two games in a row once this entire postseason and have yet to trail in a series, they’re in good shape to return to Los Angeles with a chance to close out Boston with three straight home games at Staples Center where the Lakers are undefeated this postseason.

6. Experience at point guard
He’s received some credit, but Derek Fisher is still the unsung hero of this Lakers team. He’s the glue guy on and off the court that makes this team stick together. He has three rings and will match up against second-year point guard Rajon Rondo of the Celtics. Rondo has shown flashes of brilliance in the playoffs, but he’s also shown flashes of inexperience. Those flashes will be magnified in the Finals by Fisher, who has already faced Allen Iverson, Deron Williams and Tony Parker in this playoff run.

7. A gift from Memphis
Pau Gasol’s impact on the Lakers cannot be overstated. This team went from a good playoff team with an emerging young center in Andrew Bynum to an elite title contender with 27-year-old veteran all-star center. It doesn’t hurt that Gasol’s skill set as a versatile big man who can post, face up, shoot the mid range shot with consistency, dribble and pass makes him a perfect fit in the triangle offense.

8. No glaring weaknesses
The Atlanta Hawks were a 37-win team with no playoff experience on their front line. The Cleveland Cavaliers were LeBron James and scraps that made running an offense look like nuclear physics. And the Detroit Pistons were banged up (Billups, Hamilton) and belligerent (Wallace). The Lakers have not shown any blatant weakness for the Celtics to exploit.

9. Belichick
Cheaters never win. Consider this the new curse, Boston. Enjoy that ’07 World Series trophy because Belichick and the Patriots set the stage for a new wave of Boston heartache. First, a perfect season ends in the Super Bowl – to a team from New York! (In hockey, the Bruins even pushed the hated Montreal Canadians to seven games in round one before being pummeled 5-0 in the series finale.) And now the beloved Celtics have a resurrection season, the best record in the NBA, and an NBA Finals date with the hated Lakers. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

10. Rebounding
This will be one of the most interesting stats to watch in this series, especially in the matchup between Lamar Odom and Kendrick Perkins. Both players are strong rebounders, although Odom does it with length and timing and Perkins with brute strength. Perkins cannot keep up with Odom’s quickness, but the 230-pound Odom wants no part of banging on the block against the 280-pound Perkins’ muscular frame.

11. Youthful energy off the bench
No one epitomizes what the Lakers’ bench gives this team quite like Ronny Turiaf. He dances. He screams. He laughs. He evens blocks a few shots, grabs a few rebounds, slams a few dunks and hits a foul line jumper now and again. The Celtics bench is veteran-laden with James Posey, P.J. Brown, Eddie House and Sam Cassell. Leon Powe and Glen “Big Baby” Davis can try to match Turiaf’s play, but they have no chance matching his passion, which rubs off on the rest of the bench brigade, especially Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar.

12. Allen, Ray, version 2008
This is not the spry young scorer fresh out of UConn. His jump shot may still look silky smooth, but his game is shaky. He’s a defensive liability, especially if asked to guard Kobe Bryant, and this playoff run has proven that his confidence is fragile. Without an all-star Allen, Boston’s hopes are seriously diminished.

13. No Boston Garden
Sorry TD Banknorth, no one wants to plant flowers in your garden. The fans may be just as passionate and just as loud, but the Lakers won’t feel the same level of discomfort that Magic and Kareem and company felt in the 80s at the old Boston Garden. Modern day conveniences will make their stay in Boston much more pleasant and their time on the court much less hectic. Boston has home court advantage in the series; it’s just not the same kind of advantage it once was.

14. Talent
Match up the players down the line and the Lakers simply win more individual matchups than Boston. And, yes, it is a team game. But there’s no question that both squads are playing great team basketball. The Lakers are just doing so with better individual talent. Their starting five is better and their next five off the bench are better. Lakers in five.

The Los Angeles Lakers did not trail for a single second of last night’s 93-91 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Yet all anyone seems to want to talk about are the final 2.1 seconds.

The Spurs inbounded the ball at midcourt to Brent Barry. He gave a head fake, Derek Fisher bought it and jumped into the air, there was contact, Barry dribbled once and fired and off balance three pointer that missed wide right. Game over.

But some people are crying foul. And conspiracy theorists are salivating at the fact that Joey Crawford happens to be the referee in question on that final play. Still, others are taking a more level-headed approach, urging Spurs fans to temper their frustration with a look at the bigger picture.

For what it’s worth, none of the actual participants in the game were willing to say a foul should have been called:

Brent Barry: “That is not going to get called. But the play really didn’t go off as designed and we were forced into a difficult shot at the end that I had but really we weren’t expecting to get that … But that play was not where the game was lost. We gave up so many offensive rebounds and never ever got over the hump.”

Gregg Popovich: “If I was the official I wouldn’t have called that a foul.”

Tim Duncan: “You’re not going to get that call; they’re not going to make that call. I was hoping he (Brent) was going to go up through his arm when he did get him in the air a little bit but I think he took a dribble to the side trying to get a good look at it and he made the right play. He knows they’re not going to make that call and he’s trying to get a good look at the basket and trying to get a clean shot off.”

Derek Fisher: “As he loaded up, I lunged toward him, but before I made contact with him I dropped my arms down and we turned at the same time, so we met simultaneously. There was contact for sure, but I don’t think I ran through him. Had I run through him, I think the ref definitely would have called the foul. I felt like both of my arms were down. I didn’t run through him. I didn’t initiate any contact. I think the ref was able to see that he was turning at the same time that I got to the spot. I think that the fact that both of my arms were down and I was in a relative position of not causing him any harm, that’s why they let it go. I never thought they would call a foul.”

Pau Gasol: “I think I would have been pretty upset if they would have called a foul, especially if there was no foul to call. Luckily, I think, Derek went straight up and down and Barry went into him. It was a good no-call.”

TNT analysts Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller compounded the issue by saying the play was not a foul because Barry did not sell the foul. The insinuation was that if he reacted more flamboyantly to the contact or launched himself into Fisher while attempting the three, the call would have been made. And maybe they’re right, but if so, are fans OK with that?

That opens up an entirely separate can of worms that encompasses everything from drawing the foul (generally seen as a good thing) to flopping (generally seen as a bad thing). I think it’s safe to assume fans don’t want a situation that encourages flopping. So then, what do we make of the no-call?

No calls on plays involving contact are nothing new. Often, last-second halfcourt heaves involving some contact are not whistled as fouls. Or, try watching Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James or Kobe Bryant for an entire game. They will endure contact nearly every time they touch the ball. It’s the only way to keep them from scoring at will. Sometimes the contact will be whistled a foul. Other times, they’ll have to play on, although the contact resembles the same brand that resulted in a foul before. It’s a delicate balance, for sure.

However, short of prohibiting any player contact, which would change the sport entirely, there is no objective way to call a game. Yes, there are rules, yes. And yes, there are detailed descriptions of what constitutes a foul. But fouls are subjective and always will be. They differ from backyard to playground from high school to college and from NBA regular season to postseason. Referees get paid for their spotting-a-foul ability, but they do not have infallibility.

Basketball is a contact sport, plain and simple. That contact is amplified at the end of the game when no one wants to surrender the winning basket, and it’s amplified more at the end of a playoff game when a play can mean the difference between moving on or the end of the season.

The problem is that fans want the game to be decided by the players (i.e. a winner-take-all shot at the buzzer), but players do not want to see their fate decided by the opposing team’s uncontested jumper. Hence, defense, which tends to involve contact of some varying degree. It’s that degree that makes for debate: fair or foul?

And there really is no foolproof solution. It’s subjective. Anyone who’s ever played in a game of pickup basketball knows that disputes over fouls are not limited to the NBA. In streetball, the players call their own fouls, and, I would argue, that is where the idea of the referees not deciding the outcome down the stretch comes from. It takes a serious foul for someone to speak up and call a foul at the end of a closely contested pick-up game. It’s an unwritten rule. You make the play or you don’t. No bail out calls.

That doesn’t make the Barry situation any easier to rule, but it puts the end of game dilemma into context. Let the players play and the referees ref.

Was there contact on the play? Yes.
Enough to justify a foul call? Maybe.
Whose call is that to make? The referee, Joey Crawford.
Did he call a foul? No.

And that’s that. A tough pill to swallow for Spurs fans, certainly, but the referee is there to make a subjective call and he ruled no foul on the play. You can justify it with talk of other calls and non-calls saying it all balances out in the end. That’s fine, but that’s also irrelevant. Each play has to stand on its own.

So unless you’re one of those players at the local Y that calls a foul every time someone breathes on you wrong, take a page from the classy Spurs players, including the player at the center of the storm, Brent Barry. Just because things don’t always go your way, it does not mean the world is against you. Live to play better another day.

No foul. No elaborate conspiracy. No more room for error for the defending champions. Lakers lead the series 3-1.