BOSTON-Although the Boston Celtics have long been revered as the greatest franchise tradition-wise in the NBA, 22 years had passed since they last hung a championship banner in the rafters. Tuesday evening, the drought came to a close as the Celtics finished off the Los Angeles Lakers with a 131-92 shellacking at the TD Banknorth Garden in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, giving Boston their 17th title in franchise history.. Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 14 rebounds in the convincing win for the Celtics, while Ray Allen made a Finals record seven 3-pointers while scoring 26 points of his own. Additionally, Rajon Rondo posted 21 points and seven rebounds for Boston, while Paul Pierce, (who was named as Finals MVP after the game) amassed 17 points and 10 assists in the victory. The game was close after the first quarter, with Boston holding a 24-20 lead. Nevertheless, the Celtics proceeded to finish things off shortly thereafter as the Lakers never recovered from surrendering a 26-6 run in the second quarter which led to an insurmountable 58-35 lead at intermission. The last championship for the Celtics had occurred in 1986 when they overpowered the Houston Rockets in six games. Team executive Danny Ainge was one of the Celtics’ key contributors that season and it was his acquisitions of Garnett, Allen, James Posey and Eddie House which led to Boston’s championship run. Kobe Bryant had 22 points for Los Angeles in defeat.