Paul Pierce carries Celtics throughout Game 4
Paul Pierce talks a big game, always.
Considerable street credit flowed his way in 2008 when he backed it up, leading his team to a title over the Lakers and grabbing the Finals most valuable player trophy in the process.
Two years later, in the Finals against the same opponent, his talk hasn’t tempered, but his play had to the absolute utmost until Thursday night.
In the Celtics’ 96-89 Game 4 win over the Lakers, Pierce, the Celtics’ captain, carried them early and finished it late.
“I just wanted to be aggressive,” he said. “I mean, that wasn’t the most important thing for us on the list, to get Paul Pierce going, coming into the game. But Doc [Rivers] just told me to be aggressive at the start of the game.”
Pierce obeyed, scoring 10 points in the first quarter, after which his team led in spite of Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett shooting three for 12.
In the second and third, he took just two shots and scored just two points, after which Rivers started getting anxious.
“Oh yeah, I was kicking myself in the third quarter,” Rivers, the Celtics coach, said. “We went away from him a little too much. We were pressing a little bit as a team. There was a lot of dribbling. Everyone was struggling to get it going themselves, and I kept reminding them that Paul has it going.”
He did, late in the fourth, closing it out.
Pierce checked in with 2:51 left, his team up, 85-77. Rondo said he’d give him a pick-and-roll to help get him going. Rivers said to do one with Garnett too.
“Attack, be aggressive. Don’t be passive,” Pierce said his teammates told him. And aggressive Pierce was, again, just as in the first quarter. He nailed a 12-foot jumper, then a layup and ensuing free throw after drawing a foul on Kobe Bryant. His team was up nine, a series-tying win in sight.
“That’s what we definitely need our captain to do in games like this,” Celtics guard Tony Allen said. “Hopefully Paul Pierce can come out with that same kind of attack energy and closing energy in Game 5.
Pierce’s final stat line of 19 points on seven-of-12 shooting wasn’t his biggest this series. He had 24 in Game 1, but 13 were ineffective, coming in a blowout fourth quarter — and his team lost.
From there, he spun out of control:
•In Game 2, Pierce had 10 points, missing nine of 11 shots from the floor — and his team won despite him, even though he declared near the end that the Celtics weren’t coming back to L.A.
In Game 3, he had 15 but struggled with five fouls — and his team lost.
“I don’t complain about the way the offense is going and what we’ve been able to accomplish because at the end of the day, it’s about winning games,” Pierce said, “and whether I score or I’m aggressive or not, my goal is to help win games.”
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