MVN: Most Valuable Network

What a game! It was another epic Game Seven of LeBron James career. The Celtics hosted the Cavaliers and survived to face the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Image details: Cleveland Cavaliers v Boston Celtics, Game 7 served by picapp.com

This Sixers fan was pulling for the Celtics, despite their rivalry of years past. LeBron James will have many more chances throughout his career, but this one is for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. I would have added Ray Allen to the mix, but he's come up surprisingly small in the playoffs.

On this day, Paul Pierce carried the kelly green on his back. He matched LeBron mano-e-mano, which is saying a lot. The way that Pierce and James went at each other reminded me of the epic 1988 playoff battle between Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins.

Celtics fans have been complaining of the officiating in these playoffs. Partly because of questionable calls, the Celtics still haven't won a road game in the playoffs. This is despite the fact that they ended the regular season with the best record in the league. Their 66 wins gave them a record 42 win turnaround from the season before. Now, the team of destiny is thinking of winning the title instead of winning the draft lottery (which is this coming Tuesday).

I couldn't believe all the horrible calls in this game. LeBron James was allowed to double dribble, Delonte West was given a pass for bouncing the ball off his foot, Kevin Garnett was repeatedly victimized by the whistle for being over seven feet tall and LeBron James was allowed to force turnovers by grabbing the jersey. I'm just naming a few cases off the top of my head, and this is in spite of the fact that the game was played in Boston. Don't think the fans didn't take note and in more than one occasion, they let the players and the refs know about it with chants of "Bullsh!t, Bullsh!t..."

Paul Pierce came to play. He made all the tough shots, had the range from deep and consistently found the open man. Pierce had 26 of the team's 50 first half points. Good things happened when Pierce had the ball, while Kevin Garnett played like the defensive player of the year that he was and did the dirty work.

With LeBron carrying the load, he needed someone to step up and contribute. That guy was former St. Joe's star Delonte West. Being a Philly guy, it was great to see West in a starring role on a national stage. He made some big three pointers and took some big shots. Other than LeBron, he was the only other Cavalier who was creating opportunities to score. He finished with 15 points, but also committed six turnovers.

Let's talk about how key contributions from the role players got it done for the Celtics. Leon Powe gave the Celtics big minutes in the first half, but no one came up bigger than P.J. Brown down the stretch. He was getting to lose balls on the offensive end and had two putback baskets in the fourth while also hitting a midrange jumper from the left elbow with 1:21 to go. Brown ended up with 10 points and six boards and made all four of his field goal attempts. In addition, Rajon Rondo was solid with eight points and eight assists.

With the Cavs down three and about 30 seconds to go, LeBron James rebounded Kevin Garnett's midrange jumper that went a little long on the iron. He brought the ball up looking for a quick score. Rather than settle for his 11th three point attempt, he drove the basketball into no-man's land with an awkward look at the basket on the left block. He attempted to shoot it off his left foot and came up strong. The Celtics got the ball and got it into the hands of their best free throw shooter - Ray Allen. Allen sunk two free throws and the Cavs got it back down five with over 20 seconds left.

Paul Pierce fouled LeBron and witnessed only 1-of-2 attempts being converted. Eddie House sunk both of his free throws after that, giving the Cavs a six point deficit and the ball. Sasha Pavlovic drained a three, but Paul Pierce was fouled again with seven seconds remaining. Pierce drained his 40th and 41st points respectively. The Celtics sunk their free throws when they mattered most and sunk the Cavs by the score of 97-92.

I don't think the Celtics will survive the Pistons without a road win. They will have a very difficult time defending their home court against the veteran Pistons squad that comes up big on the road. It should be a great Eastern Conference Finals. If this Game 7 was any indication, it should be one for the ages.