"Rasheed Wallace was quick to get to the point.

"To be here in the playoffs, this is why I came here,'' the power forward/center said last night after the Celtics dumped the Cavaliers from the playoffs with an 94-85 victory in Game 6 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals. Wallace came off the bench to score 13 points — including a crucial 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, a power pairing with Paul Pierce's trey that combined to squelch a Cleveland comeback as Boston eliminated LeBron James's team, four games to two.

"I didn't come here for the regular season,'' said Wallace, a Philadelphia native who proudly wore a Flyers cap postgame.

There were times during the season when Celtics fans didn't know exactly what Wallace had come to Boston for; his play was lackluster, his points didn't pile up.

After a dismal 111-91 loss to the Grizzlies March 10, Wallace dismissed concerns about the team's ability to win, as well as doubts about his shortcomings. (He averaged only 9 points per game in the regular season and shot 28 percent from the 3-point line.)"