With Game in the Balance, Pierce Keys Comeback in Fourth

By Scott Tribble
Celtics.com Correspondent
May 31, 2008

For 21 long years, the Boston Celtics felt the burden of not making the NBA Finals. On Friday night, at the Palace of Auburn Hills, The Truth set them free.

Paul Pierce spearheaded a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback against the Pistons in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The captain took control in the final frame, torching the Pistons for 12 of his 27 points and leading his team to a series-clinching 89-81 win.

"I could write a whole book on my emotions right now," Pierce told reporters after the game. "But I'm just happy to be in this position, still with the Boston Celtics. It makes me think about a year ago today what I was doing. To be in this position with the same team going to The Finals, it's nothing I can really put into words."

Pierce ignited the Celtics' comeback early in the fourth quarter, drawing key fouls against Antonio McDyess and Jason Maxiell, while setting up Kendrick Perkins for a three-point play that cut the Pistons' lead to 70-65. At the five and a half minute mark, while converting a layup, Pierce drew contact from Rodney Stuckey. His subsequent free throw put the team up 75-74, and the Celtics never looked back. The play marked the beginning of seven straight points for Pierce in the final quarter.

"I wanted to be a little more aggressive, but at the same time be smart," Pierce said. "The shots were there. I was a little surprised at some of the open looks I got at the driving lanes, but hey, I took advantage of it."

Though his late-game heroics certainly proved most significant, Pierce was a factor for the Celtics all night. Along with teammate Ray Allen, Pierce paced the offense in the first half, but arguably his greater impact came on defense. With Kevin Garnett in early foul trouble, Pierce controlled the glass, grabbing six rebounds in the first two quarters, all the while dominating his matchup against Tayshaun Prince. The Pistons' forward struggled on offense all night, scoring 10 points on 3 of 10 shooting and reaching the line on only two occasions.

Despite a 40-37 advantage at the half, the game seemed to slip away from the Celtics in the third. At no point did the Green Team's prospects look grimmer than with a minute and a half remaining in the quarter, when the Pistons led 64-58. After drawing contact from Prince, Pierce subsequently nailed a long-distance three, but referee Bennett Salvatore called a questionable offensive foul on the Celtics' captain. Rather than two points, the Celtics faced a deficit of eight -- a mark that persisted into the early fourth quarter.

After the game, Coach Doc Rivers told reporters that Pierce, who certainly experienced the worst of times over the course of his ten-year Celtics' career, clearly deserved this victory.

"He's been through so much, on and off the floor. I think we were talking about this, the fact that he stayed," Rivers said. "In the times when all the stars, when their team gets bad, they want to bail, they want to get traded, Paul re upped. He stayed with us. To me that means a lot, and I said that when he did it. So he deserves this, he really does."

Still, even within minutes of defeating the Pistons, Pierce already was looking forward to the Finals matchup against the Celtics' West Coast nemesis, the Los Angeles Lakers.

"It's a dream come true, man, just thinking about it," Pierce said. "I think that rivalry really revolutionized the game of basketball, and now I'm a part of it."

The quest for Banner 17 begins Thursday night in Boston. In the meantime, Pierce can savor his hard-fought victory over the Pistons and maybe even start work on that book. Best of all for Celtics' fans, The Truth's words will be non-fiction.