Key Moment

It looked like the Celtics were out of luck. Their thriller of a game against the Denver Nuggets was about to end with a loss in double overtime.

Then Paul Pierce happened.

The Celtics trailed by three points with 18.9 seconds left in the second extra session after Ty Lawson canned a jumper for the Nuggets. Doc Rivers called for a timeout and drew up a play for his team. This is what Rivers instructed his players to do:

“The original play was Pierce coming off a pick-and-roll,” said Rivers. “If he could get a 3 off, get it. If not, (pass to) [Jason Terry].”

That sounds pretty simple, but what happened on the play was anything but simple. The Celtics were discombobulated and could not get a look at the basket. Once the clock ticked down to a certain point, it was time for Plan B.

“Originally we were going to go for a quick 2,” Rivers stated after the win. “Once it got under the 11-second mark I was yelling, 'We have to take a 3 now.'”

Pierce must have heard his coach yelling in his ear from the sideline. He politely obliged.

Pierce made a move on his defender and fired up a 3 from the left wing that rattled through the basket with 5.2 seconds left in the session. Denver did not score in those final 5.2 seconds, which propelled the game into a third overtime.

There were a handful of key plays that occurred in the final five minutes of the game to give Boston the win, but none were more important than Pierce’s 3-pointer. He gave his team a chance to win the game and his teammates made it happen to extend their winning streak to a league-best seven games.

Rivers summed Pierce's heroics up beautifully by saying, “That’s what great players do.”

Box Score Nuggets

• Both teams combined to attempt 221 shots on the night.
• Paul Pierce and Ty Lawson each played more than 54 minutes.
• Pierce notched a triple-double of 27 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists.
• Lawson scored a game-high 29 points.
• The Nuggets grabbed an incredible 65 rebounds in the game, led by 16 from reserve JaVale McGee.
• Kevin Garnett grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds while also scoring 20 points and dishing out six assists.
• The Celtics scored 24 points off of Denver's 21 turnovers.
• The Celtics lost the battles of points in the paint, second-chance points and fast break points yet still won.
• Denver shot just 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from the free-throw line.
• Jason Terry scored a season-high 26 points and attempted a season-high 14 3-pointers.
• Pierce (14 boards) and Garnett (18 boards) were the only Celtics who grabbed more than five rebounds.
• Five players in the game attempted at least 20 shots, led by Garnett's 24.
• The teams combined to block 19 shots (11 by Denver, eight by Boston).