We ended up sitting at a press table about 13 rows behind the basket.

Beginning to warm up to the idea of spending the evening sitting close enough to see Alonzo Mourning's sweat, she said, "We're so close!"

For the first three quarters, the Celtics were down by an average of about 12 points--not close enough to make a move, but close enough not to let the Heat get too complacent with the lead.

During this time, I fielded questions about the game of basketball from my less-than-knowledgeable companion who was attending an NBA game for the first time.

"Why don't they just play for 10 minutes instead of 40?"

After Tim Hardaway was fouled while shooting a three-pointer: "Why doesn't he shoot his free throws from the three-point line?"

It was good news to me that she was interested enough in basketball to ask questions about the game.