By PAUL SCHWARTZ

GLENDALE, Ariz. – The imperfect team picked the perfect time to deny perfection.

Completing an astonishing season with an upset for the ages, the Giants last night shocked the world, denied history and defeated the Patriots 17-14 in a remarkable Super Bowl XLII stunner at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Eli Manning’s 13-yard pass to a wide-open Plaxico Burress – who ran past stumbling cornerback Ellis Hobbs – with 35 seconds left set the final dagger in one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history.

Manning, trailing 14-10, directed a 12-play, 83-yard drive, using 2:07 for the winning points.

What was supposed to be the coronation of the Patriots immaculate 19-0 season instead became one of the most unexpected defeats in this game’s storied history. The Pats sought to copyright the 19-0 trademark; instead, they’d better get busy printing up those “18-1” shirts.

And to think, Burress predicted to The Post the Giants would win 23-17. He almost got it right.

The Giants incredible defense sacked Tom Brady five times, the last with 19 seconds left by rookie Jay Alford.

The Giants get to take home the Lombardi Trophy for the first time since the 1990 season and they earned it the hard way, as a wild card entrant into the playoffs, not favored to win in Dallas or Green Bay and certainly not against what many considered the best team in NFL history. Instead, the Giants made history of their own.

The Giants, playing gallantly as a 12-point underdog, led 10-7 when Tom Brady took over with 7:54 left, a spot he’s been in so many times before. He did not crack. He did what he always does, calmly dissect the opposing defense, completing eight passes – three to the unstoppable Wes Welker – before hitting paydirt.

On third down, Brady had it easy when cornerback Corey Webster slipped as Randy Moss made an inside cut, leaving Moss painfully open to haul in a 6-yard touchdown with 2:42 remaining.

The Giants and Manning took over on their own 17-yard line. On third down from his own 44-yard line, Manning should have been sacked by either Jarvis Green and Richard Seymour. Somehow, Manning wriggled free and fired deep downfield, where David Tyree out-leaped safety Rodney Harrison for an outrageous 32-yard catch.

Locked in a fierce battle but unable to dent the end zone, the Giants erupted early in the fourth quarter with a brilliant Manning-inspired 80-yard drive. The monster play was a 45-yard catch-and-run pass to rookie tight end Kevin Boss, who got past Harrison to ignite the laboring offense. On third down, Manning fired over the middle to another rookie, Steve Smith, for 17 yards then, after a play-fake, found an untapped resource in Tyree in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown strike for a 10-7 Giants lead with 11:05 remaining.

Tyree, who slipped past Asante Samuel, did not have a touchdown all season.

Heading into the final quarter, the Patriots led this physically brutal game 7-3, the second-fewest points after three quarters in Super Bowl history.

The dominating aspect of the first half and into the third quarter was the Giants defensive front, which after getting warmed up zeroed in on Brady and let him have it.

Brady dropped back 17 times in the first half and was hit or sacked nine times, with Justin Tuck dropping him twice and linebacker Kawika Mitchell getting him once off a blitz. The Patriots had four first-half possessions and scored on one of them, as the NFL’s most prolific scoring machine was slowed and at times grinded to a halt.

The Pats in the first half managed 81 total yards. The Giants owned the time of possession (19:27 to 10:33) and limited Randy Moss to one 18-yard catch. The problem was they couldn’t score. The Giants found ways to move the ball but couldn’t dent the end zone. They reached the New England 14-yard line on their first two possessions but came away with three points. They reached the Patriots 25-yard line and came up empty when Manning fumbled as he was sacked by Adalius Thomas. Rookie running back Ahmad Bradshaw dove for the loose ball and batted it forward to rookie receiver Steve Smith for the recovery, but Bradshaw was called for an illegal touching penalty to ruin the drive.

That put the ball back in Brady’s hands with 1:47 left in the half, plenty of time for him to work his magic. But after picking up two first downs, Brady was blind-sided by Tuck, who forced a fumble that Osi Umenyiora recovered with 10 seconds left before halftime.

The Giants nearly put together a textbook opening drive, showing no jitters as Manning hit Plaxico Burress for 14 yards and Smith for 8 to convert back-to-back third downs. The 16-play, 63-yard drive ate up 9:59 – the longest opening drive in terms of time in Super Bowl history – but came up short. The Giants did take a 3-0 lead on Lawrence Tynes’ 32-yard field goal, but failing to reach the end zone from the red zone is often a recipe for disaster when facing the potent Pats.

The early success in keep-away was wasted when Maroney took the ensuing kickoff 43 yards to set up the Pats on their 44-yard line. Bang, bang, bang, the Pats eased on down the field when on third-and-10 from the Giants’ 17 Antonio Pierce was called for pass interference for mauling tight end Ben Watson in the end zone. Two plays later, on the first play of the second quarter, Maroney scored from 1 yard out to put the Patriots ahead 7-3.

Manning had gone 95 consecutive passes in the postseason without an interception; that streak was broken because Smith could not hold onto a low pass that hit him in both hands. Amani Toomer had dragged his feet to stay in bounds on a 38-yard reception and the Giants were on the New England 14 when Smith, instead of hauling in the football, scooped it into the air, where cornerback Ellis Hobbs picked it off to prevent the Giants from cashing in with any points.

Gradually, though, the Giants found their legs on defense. Umenyiora stopped Maroney for a 2-yard loss to force a punt, and on the next series they pummeled Brady, with Mitchell and Tuck sacking him on consecutive plays.