Boston Celtics edge the Milwaukee Bucks on Paul Pierce’s career-night
The Boston Celtics continued to roll as they escaped with a thrilling 105-102 overtime win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Paul Pierce’s career-night, Wednesday 3 November at the TD Garden
in Boston.
Pierce erupted for 12 points in the extra period, leading the Celtics to their fourth win of the season, and the 33-year old forward finished the game with 28 points, which made him reach
the 20,000-point mark of his career.
The veteran forward reached the milestone when he converted his first of two crucial free throws in the extra period, which gave the Celtics a comfortable 99-95 lead with a minute left in
the game, and scored five more points to seal their hard-earned win.
"That was an emotional moment for me. It was tough for me to swallow at that point," Pierce said. "You don't see that often that a player accomplishes the feat with one team. Five years ago,
I would never have imagined I would score 20,000 points in a Celtics jersey. I was a disgruntled player."
The 6ft 7in forward and former Kansas standout became the third player behind Hall of Famers John Havlicek and Larry Bird to score 20,000 points while spending all their playing years with
the Celtics, and Pierce’s teammate, Kevin Garnett, knows that they witnessed an extraordinary feat.
"It is a very small window of people that are in it," said Garnett, who is also one of the 36 players who reached the milestone. "It is a good list of people to be neighbored by, so congratulations
Paul."
Ray Allen scored 23 points, while Rajon Rondo continued to display flashes of brilliance this season as the all-star point guard scored 17 points and dished out 15 assists for the Celtics,
who had a six-point lead with 1:20 left in the fourth period, before the Bucks rallied to force an extra five minutes.
Andrew Bogut led the Bucks with his 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Carlos Delfino and Ersan Ilyasova chipped in 15 points apiece, but Milwaukee failed to execute down the stretch to absorb
their fourth loss in their first five games of the season.
"Hopefully this is a test for us and see how we need to play every night," said second-year guard Brandon Jennings, who finished with 13 points and four assists. "We did a lot of good things
tonight, but somebody's got to lose."
The Celtics played without veteran centre Shaquille O’Neal for the second-straight game after bruising his knee on 28 October against the New York Knicks, and is also expected to miss their
game on Friday 5 November against the Chicago Bulls.
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