The Celtics’ Paul Pierce tries to shoot over the Lakers’ Lamar Odom in the first half of Game Five last night in Los Angeles.

AP / Kevork Djansezian

LOS ANGELES — Paul Pierce will always be a child of the City of Angels.

He may have gone to college in Kansas and become a rich sports celebrity clear across the country in Boston, but when Pierce flies into Los Angeles International airport, he knows he’s home.

Last night at the Staples Center, Pierce was out to create the ultimate lasting memory of his hometown. One more win in these NBA Finals and Pierce and his Celtics would be world champions. That the Celtics needed to beat the Lakers, the domain of Pierce’s childhood heroes, was simply an unintended consequence.

“To win it will be special. To win it at home would be unreal,” Pierce said. “You know, this is where I started playing basketball. This is where I picked up the sport. This is where I got into the game, watching the Celtics and the Lakers, and to win it on this court, even though I wish it was the Forum, but unfortunately it’s not, but just to win it here in your hometown is something that people are going to remember (for) years and years down the road.”

That Pierce had this chance was what he envisioned when the Celtics flew here last Monday. Getting even one win in Los Angeles would help Boston build on the 2-0 lead it built back at TD Banknorth Garden and move the Celts one game away from the title. The team’s historic, 24-point comeback victory in Game Four secured that one critical win and moved the Celtics into position to claim the franchise’s 17th championship last night.

Pierce and the Celtics dismissed the never-ending argument about where it would be better to take advantage of their 3-1 series lead and win it all. On the road or at home? No one was ready to choose last night. “Anywhere is fine with me,” is what Rajon Rondo answered when asked the question.

The week in Los Angeles was a pleasant one for Pierce. While he spent most of his time holed up in the team’s Beverly Hills hotel, the players did travel with their families for the first time in the playoffs. Pierce did take a short trip to his mother’s house, but he wasn’t exactly opening the door for visits from all of his neighborhood pals.

“I’ve treated this week like I’ve spent pretty much the whole playoffs. I went home one time to see my mother, and that was probably for, like, 30 minutes,” he said. “I want to treat this like if I was in Cleveland, you know. I’m going to do the same routine. I’m going to stay in the hotel, take my naps, eat my room service or go here to eat and just pretty much keep everything the same. I didn’t want to get too comfortable of being at home and soaking up the environment and just getting too relaxed.”

Scraping up extra tickets to the Finals wasn’t easy and Pierce made it clear that his access to tickets was limited. “I told my family members, ‘Hey, we’re going to have all summer to talk about it. Let me focus right now and try to win the championship. Then we’ll have our other moments together throughout the summer.’ And that’s how I’ve approached it,” Pierce said.

That business-like approach has endeared Pierce to this Celtics’ team. Where once he was young, single and more than a bit tough to figure, he’s now a mature 30-year-old with a young daughter and a clear professional focus. Kevin Garnett may be the Celtics’ most focused and outwardly emotional player, but Pierce has shown again and again that he’s more determined than anyone.

Asked earlier in the week what he hoped his part of Celtics’ history may be, Pierce said he hadn’t thought about it.

“A lot of things are going on throughout the years, and I guess you don’t really get to realize what you’ve done over your career or what you’ve done in special moments until it’s all said and done and you can look back and say, ‘Wow that was pretty amazing,’ ” he said. “As far as thinking about that, the only thing on my mind right now is just getting another championship to Boston.”

Of course, history is everywhere when you’re a Celtic. The franchise’s 16 championship banners hang fill the walls of the practice court in Waltham and fly from the rafters at the Garden. Visits from Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek and other legends seem like an everyday occurrence. Pierce notices the history and knows he’s one more win from becoming a cherished part of it.

“Like I said not too long ago, there’s only one jersey (Reggie Lewis) that’s in the rafters out of all the guys up there that didn’t win a championship. I don’t know if I want my number to go up there if I don’t win a championship,” he said.

kmcnamar@projo.com