Celtics blow out Lakers to win NBA championship

The Boston Celtics blew out the Los Angeles Lakers 131-92 Tuesday night to claim their 17th NBA championship in team history in a 4-2 series victory.

After a storied history, the victory Tuesday night was the first time the Celtics had won the title in 22 years. And the victory was all the more sweet for Boston, who played the final game in front of its hometown fans at the Garden. The championship win was described as "the greatest single season turnaround in NBA history."

Kevin Garnett, an 11-time NBA All-Star and 2004 league MVP, scored a game-high 26 points to capture the first NBA championship of his career. Along with Ray Allen (26 points) and Paul Pierce (17 points), the Celtics' "Big Three" combined for 69 points in the final game. Allen scored seven 3-pointers in the game, and Pierce was awarded the trophy for Most Valuable Player in the NBA finals.

The 39-point game loss was the worst defeat in a clinching game in NBA finals history, according to NBA TV. The Lakers' Kobe Bryant scored a team-leading 22 points, but Lamar Odom could only manage 14 points and Pau Gasol was held to 11 points.

The Celtics and Lakers have faced off in 11 championship finals and Boston has won 9 of them. There was also a little bit of superstition involved. As NBA TV described it, on the 17th day of the 6th month, the Celtics won their 17th NBA championship in game 6.

The video below shows the highlights from the game.

And in the video below, Boston fans celebrate the Celtics victory.