Paul Pierce’s bold Game 2 take aged poorly after Celtics’ crushing loss to Knicks
"You've got a better chance of walking out of the studio and seeing a dinosaur — than the Celtics losing."
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Paul Pierce wasn’t sounding the alarms.
Even after the Boston Celtics coughed up a 20-point third-quarter lead on Monday in an eventual 108-105 overtime loss to New York, the Hall-of-Fame forward believed his longtime team was due for a bounce-back in Game 2 at TD Garden.
So much so, that the 2008 NBA Finals MVP was already talking a big game hours ahead of Boston’s rematch against the Knicks on Wednesday.
“The Celtics — if the Celtics lose Game 2 at home. I promise you — I’m walking here tomorrow,” Pierce said on FS1’s “Speak” Wednesday evening. “I’m walking here. I’m walking here 15 miles. I’m walking here in my robe. No shoes on. Bare feet … If the Celtics lose tonight? I’m walking here.”
“So you’re getting up at five in the morning,” host Joy Taylor asked.
“I’ll be up at three,” Pierce replied.
Pierce had good reason to be confident in the Celtics’ chances of evening the series at 1-1.
Not only was Boston historically bad from 3-point range (15-of-60 beyond the arc) in Game 1, the Celtics had not lost back-to-back games in the postseason since 2023. Since the 2024 season, the Celtics were 4-0 after a loss in the playoffs, winning their next matchup by an average of 15 points.
Considering that the Celtics lost by three in overtime to New York on a night where Kristaps Porzingis was limited (zero points in 13 minutes) and Boston’s 3-point shooting dried up, Pierce was expecting a lopsided result in Game 2.
“I guarantee this one. Put the house on this game,” Pierce said. “Put the house on it.”
“So you don’t think there’s an opportunity,” fellow FS1 analyst and former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson asked before Pierce interjected.
“No shot we lose,” Pierce replied.
“There’s no way,” Johnson countered.
“No chance — you’ve got a better chance of walking out of the studio and seeing a dinosaur, then the Celtics losing,” Pierce said.
Unfortunately, Pierce might have to get his steps in on Thursday ahead of FS1’s next taping of “Speak” — and duck some prehistoric creatures along the way.
Despite Pierce’s confidence in his team, the Celtics didn’t reciprocate that talk with strong play on the court — as Boston once again coughed up a 20-point lead in the third quarter en route to a 91-90 win for the Knicks.
Sure enough, Pierce filmed himself walking to the FS1 studio on Thursday morning.
As noted by Celtics stats guru Dick Lipe, Boston is the first team in playoff history during the play-by-play era (since 1996-97) to lose twice in a single postseason after leading by 20 points.
After building themselves a 20-point lead in the closing minutes of the third quarter on Wednesday, the Celtics only scored 17 points over the final 15:10 of regulation against New York — shooting just 5-for-28 from the field. Over that stretch, Boston had one more turnover than made field goals.
The Celtics may not be officially on the brink of elimination, but Pierce may not be as self-assured in his team’s success entering Game 3 against the Knicks on Saturday night.
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