“I love it,” he said. “This is what it’s all about. It’s what you guys are going to talk about for years. You guys are going to remember this moment. You’re going to remember Thursday forever.

“I can’t wait. I can’t wait to step up on the floor and win here in L.A.”

Come again?

That last part sounded a tad cocky, but Davis, who grabbed nine rebounds but didn’t score at all Tuesday, was just clearing his throat.

He continued with his postgame speech, which ended with a few more lines that bordered on boastful, such as “We’ll come to play, we’ll compete, and we’ll be there at the end holding the trophy.”

Davis continued to explain WHY the Celtics will win the title.

“We’ve got to go get it,” Davis said. “We went through too many ups and downs to lose like this. Out of all the teams in the league, we’re the ones who struggled.

“We went through the bumps and bruises. We went through the ‘we’re old.’ We went through the ‘oh, they can’t play, they’re the fourth seed, they’re going to get beat by Cleveland, they’re going to get beat by Orlando.’

“And we’re here now, despite of what everybody else thinks. So you think we’re going to just let this go? No. We accept the challenge, and we want it. That’s point-blank simple.

“We could have gave up a long time ago and look forward to next year. But no. We’re here. So we’re going to take it while we’re here and understand that we’ve been through ups and downs and we deserve it more than them.”

Never to be outdone, Kobe Bryant offered up a guarantee of his own, though he did it behind closed doors. The Orange County Register’s Kevin Ding reported that “Bryant told [the Lakers] flat-out in the locker room [after Game 5] that the Lakers would go home and win Game 6 and then win Game 7.”

Back to Big Baby, he said not to be too concerned if Kendrick Perkins doesn’t play tomorrow. The Ticket Stub will come to the rescue if he has to. (NBA Fanhouse)

“If Perk can’t go, ‘The Ticket Stub’ will be here,” Davis said. “I’ll call him and make sure he’ll come in on his flight, a flight early, probably in the morning. So I’ll come and see how he’s doing.”

I know exactly where The Ticket Stub is. He’s still in Boston, where he was left in the locker room after Game 4.