Format the following passage properly for storytelling purposes. Keep it as written, don't change a single word, but improve grammar where necessary.

Having taken care of business against the San Antonio Spurs, achieving a convincing victory over them at the Alamodome after narrowly losing to them in a prior game, the Lakers were left to consider who their next opponent would be. Initially, they gave thought to playing the New Jersey Nuts--I mean, Nets. (No offense to their loyal fans; that was a typo which I decided to leave in for the comedic value.) But then it hit them: who is their number one rival? Why, none other than the Boston Celtics. Even the Lakers' own division rivals have never been able to live up to the shared impact and legacy of the Boston-Los Angeles rivalry. of the 78 championships that have thus far been won in NBA history the Lakers and Celtics have combined to win 35 of them, or approximately 45%. From 2020 to 2024, they were tied with 17 apiece; the Celtics broke the tie earlier this year by defeating the Mavericks in 5 games. Though the intensity of the rivalry waned somewhat following the retirements of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the early 1990s, two key pieces of that era--Robert Parish and James Worthy--were still on the Celtics and Lakers respectively, as of the 1993-94 season. It only seemed right to try and reignite the spirit of competition between these legendary franchises, the two most storied in NBA history. And thus, the Lakers--along with their faithful fans--welcomed the Celtics, and their rowdy pack of visiting supporters, into the Great Western Forum. The 1993-94 season marked the last time that Parish would get to face Worthy, as a Celtic or otherwise. He left Boston after that season and went to Charlotte for a few seasons, finishing out his career with the Bulls (with whom he not only won his final ring but became--and remains--the oldest player ever to win an NBA championship). Worthy retired after the 1993-94 season, finishing his career with seven NBA All-Star selections (his most recent coming in 1992) and three NBA championships; for his '88 win he was voted the Finals MVP. As a matter of fact, Worthy and Parish did meet once in the 1993-94 season, with their 'farewell' to their shared rivalry coming on February 27, 1994, marking the 41st and final time the two would meet on the court as professionals. The Lakers won that game 100-97, in a game where Parish finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 1 block, whereas Worthy finished with 7 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals. Alas, their virtual meeting would not prove nearly as competitive; Los Angeles got off to a rolling start, scoring the first eight points of the game and ultimately taking it 141-102, in the textbook definition of a rout. As you may have already predicted based on that final score the Lakers got to 100 points long before Boston did, as George Lynch sank a three-point shot to make it 101-77 with 3:22 remaining in the 3rd. The "Hustle Board" also shows a clear advantage for the Lakers from a defensive standpoint; though they tied 54-54 in rebounds, the Lakers led 20-18 in blocked shots, while killing the Celtics with the steals (23-14). Elden Campbell was named "Player of the Game" after recording a triple-double (45 points, 18 rebounds and 10 blocks; he also had 7 assists, finishing second only to Vlade Divac, who had 13). James Worthy had a vintage performance, finishing with an amazing 36 points off the bench. Robert Parish didn't look bad either, leading his team both in rebounds (13) and assists (7). The leading scorers for Boston were Ed Pinckney and Kevin Gamble, who combined for 48 points (with Pinckney also recording 7 blocks, which led the team). With the 'super-match' against Boston having turned out to be a letdown from a competitive standpoint, the Lakers looked to the Nets for a tougher challenge. The Nets were only 4-10 at the start of the season and held a 22-24 record at the All-Star break, but won 8 of their final 11 games to finish third in the Atlantic Division with a 45-37 record. Though they were eliminated in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, they managed to take a game off the New York Knicks, losing in four to the eventual runner-up of the NBA Finals. Derrick Coleman, who the Nets had selected first overall in 1990, would have the best season of his career, being named to the All-NBA third team for the second (and final) time while receiving his sole NBA All-Star selection. Sure enough, the virtual Coleman was every bit as effective as the real deal, being named "Player of the Game" in a winning effort for the Nets, who held on for a razor-thin 110-109 win after being up 100-85 with seven minutes remaining in the 4th. The "Hustle Board" showed a dead heat, with the teams finishing 99 to 99 across a trio of defensive categories. Though the Nets led 24-18 in blocked shots, the Lakers led 57-54 in rebounds and 30-27 in steals. In his 'MVP' performance, Coleman finished with 34 points, 7 rebounds and one assist. P.J. Brown--who stuck around in the league long enough to win his sole NBA title in 2008 (!), and was still years away from winning his first NBA award of any kind--finished second in scoring for the Nets, with 24 points. Benoit Benjamin, a recent acquisition from the Lakers (how's that for a bit of irony?), led the Nets with 10 rebounds, while Chris Morris led in assists (10) and blocks (11). For the Lakers' part, Doug Christie led the team in points (31) and rebounds (14). Vlade Divac again led in assists, with 16 on the day. Elden Campbell, the MVP of the previous game against the Celtics, only finished with 26 points compared to Christie's 31, but did lead the Lakers with 6 blocks. As the Nets prepare for a rematch with the Lakers--a decision that was made largely thanks to the margin of victory combined with the "Hustle Board" tie--I reflect on my fascination with sports video games, and wonder how my Asperger's Syndrome can be tied (no pun intended) to the interest. This morning, our local PBS affiliates showed an episode of "Arthur" where George Lundgren meets a young man named Carl, who has Asperger's. For the most part, I feel like they were able to capture the experience of being autistic accurately, though I did take offense to the idea that autistic people are less likely to say 'thank you,' which was demonstrated in a scene where George brings Carl a missing puzzle piece and gives him a book about trains, in which he becomes so engrossed (his observations include Central Pacific Number Two and the Trans-Iberian Express) that his mother has to ask her own son if he can say 'thank you.' Carl continues, full steam ahead (again, no pun intended), becoming more engrossed in the book. "That's okay," George says as he leaves, picking up a 'custom' piece Carl and his mother had made to replace the lost one. Reflecting on what he has learned from Carl, George acknowledges he has learned "to speak quietly, be clear and not...take it personally if he ignores me." As someone who also has autism, I can assure you that not all autistics have a tendency to ignore other people. For the failings of the episode, it does an admirable job of trying to capture the unique aspects of the autistic experience, though it may have been more accurate if more autistics were among the crew. I'm not sure when, or even if, I'll kick this habit of being so fascinated with sports and the games that are based on them.  But for what it's worth, it feels nice to have a hobby to keep spirits high.