PHILADELPHIA - Red Sox manager Terry Francona watched with a smile on his face as the Celtics destroyed the Lakers in winning the NBA Championship on Tuesday night.

Francona has forged a friendly relationship with Doc Rivers, the Celts’ coach.

“I was happy for him. That’s really good. I’m happy for the whole organization,” Francona said yesterday. “The people I know over there, not a lot of them, but they’re always just nice.”

By the time Francona got back to his room after the Red Sox’ game Tuesday night, he said there were nine minutes remaining in the game. The outcome had long since been decided.

“I just wanted to watch to see how people reacted to it, the fans, the players. It was kind of cool to watch,” he said.

skrasner@projo.com