Boston ? They’re like long, lost fraternity brothers who left college with bad haircuts and wearing those thigh-hugging short shorts that were fashionable during the Reagan years. They drifted to opposite coasts and barely kept in touch.

Well, they’ve reconnected and are getting back together.

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are going to a reunion in a place they both know so well – the NBA finals.

It’s about time, huh?

“I feel like a little kid,” said Celtics forward Paul Pierce, who grew up in L.A. and used to sneak into the Lakers’ home arena. “Now I understand that, hey, I’m going to be a part of history. This is something I grew up watching, the Laker-Celtics rivalries.”

Following a 21-year separation, pro basketball’s pillars of power will revive their bitter rivalry starting tonight at TD Banknorth Garden for Game 1 of a best-of-seven series drenched in nostalgia and stuffed with enough history to fill every playground hoop from Springfield to Southern California.

The famed franchises, who have combined to win 30 of 61 championships, are squaring off in the finals for the 11th time and first since 1987.