105 games. 65 wins. A few buzzer-beaters. A lotta dunks. Some great wins. Some miserable losses.

And none of them matter. Not even a little.

All those 105 games did was prepare the Celtics for Game 7. All they did was get them here. After that, those games mean nothing. The only game that counts is tonight.

One game, 48 minutes, 2,880 seconds. That’s all the 2010 NBA season boils down to. Nothing else that has happened this season, nothing the previous 105 games told us, will count. Win or lose, both teams begin their offseason after tonight’s game. The only difference is, one will have to schedule a parade.

Fair or not, legacies will be altered in the Staples Center this evening. That’s what happens in Game 7s. Legends are forged. Heroes are made. And at the end of the game, we won’t think of anybody in the same way we did before the night began. “Is Kobe the greatest Laker ever?” “How could he be? He couldn’t beat the Celtics in the Finals.” “Is Kevin Garnett clutch?” “Hell yeah. Do you remember back in 2010, Game 7, when he hung 27 and 12 on the Lakers?”

Celtics vs. Lakers. Kobe vs. Pierce. KG vs. Pau. Jackson vs. Rivers. One game. For all the marbles. The whole kit-n-kaboodle. The entire enchilada. With everyone in the country watching. Pride, history, legacies and an NBA title, all on the line.

Doesn’t it all just seem so right?