Pierce performs at both ends
LOS ANGELES – With his team down 18 points, Paul Pierce had a message for his coach at halftime.
“I’m going to guard Kobe [Bryant]’,” Pierce told Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “Let me guard him.”
Rivers obliged, and Pierce’s defense on the league’s MVP helped the Celtics pull off one of the most remarkable comebacks in NBA playoff history, a 97-91 victory over the Lakers Thursday night at the Staples Center. The Celtics lead the best-of-seven series with Los Angles, 3-1.
“Right now I’m waiting to exhale,” Pierce said after the game.
He didn’t give Bryant much breathing room either. The Lakers captain had six assists before halftime, helping to orchestrate an offense that the Celtics had no answer for. Los Angeles shot 50 percent in the first half, largely a byproduct of Bryant’s playmaking.
With Pierce guarding him in the third, Bryant finally connected for his first two field goals, but he had just one assist. The Celtics cut an 18-point lead to two points during that stretch. By the end of the third quarter, Bryant had just 7 points on 2 of 11 shooting.
“It’s hard to stop a player like Kobe Bryant,” Pierce said after the game. “He’s the MVP. If you can go out there and make him work for everything, you give yourselves a chance.”
Pierce didn’t completely shut down Bryant (he finished with 17 points), but he did make him work. And the remarkable thing about Pierce’s defensive work on Bryant was that he did most of it without fouling. Bryant got to the line just 6 times in Game 4, compared to 18 trips in Game 3. Pierce finished with four fouls.
“He knows [Bryant] very well, and he was between him and the basket the whole time,” said Celtics veteran P.J. Brown. “He just played great defense.”
Pierce said all he was trying to do was compete.
“I felt I could be a little more physical on him, not let him drive,” said Pierce. “I’m a little bit taller than Ray [Allen], so I can get a hand up, challenge him a bit more.”
Pierce’s work didn’t stop on the defensive end of the floor. The Celtics captain was efficient on offense, scoring 20 points on 6 of 13 shooting. He was also 8 of 9 from the line, including two clutch free throws with 46.8 seconds left to put his team up five. He added 7 assists and 4 rebounds in the game, doing it all while guarding Bryant.
“I think people will look at his offense, but I think we won the game because Paul was a better defensive player tonight,” said Rivers.
The performance had to be particularly sweet for Pierce after a not-so impressive homecoming in Los Angeles. The Inglewood native had a terrible Game 3, netting just 6 points on 2 of 14 shooting. He was also roundly booed by the Staples Center crowd throughout the first two games here, with Lakers fans seemingly taking exception to Pierce’s rapid comeback from a knee injury in Game 1.
“You could just see he went up another level in competition tonight,” said Celtics guard Ray Allen. “He was guarding the Lakers’ best player, and he was taking it to the basket on offense.”
Allen was perfectly happy to give Pierce that plum assignment.
“I knew what he was trying to do, but it took Paul to say, ‘Let me guard him,’” said Allen. “I said, ‘Let’s do it’…it just woke him up.”
Pierce is wide awake now. And he’s enjoying the moment. After 10 years in the league, he’s one win away from his first NBA championship.
“It’s a dream if I can come out and win it on Sunday,” said Pierce. “I’ll be able to enjoy it even more once it’s all over.”
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