Paul Pierce drops season high 34 as short-handed Boston Celtics rap Washington Wizards: NBA Recap
Boston Celtics aren’t having the best of season and on Sunday night; they entered the game without their ace point guard Rajon Rondo, who missed his second game with an injured right wrist.
Eighteen and a half minutes into the game, the C’s lost Ray Allen, who collided with Jan Vesley, to suffer a jammed left ankle. All of a sudden, the Celts were looking down the barrel, but then Paul Pierce decided to take over.
The veteran small forward erupted with a season high 34 points, including 14 of the last 25 Boston points, a season high 10 assists and 8 rebound.
"I'm one of our, if not our main scorer on this ballclub," Said Pierce, who also made a season high three steals on the night. "That's my role. I haven't been doing a good job of it lately, but a lot of that has to do with just
being in game shape, getting my legs stronger, being able to get up and down and jump."
Brandon Bass came off the bench for 13 points and 9 rebounds, while Mickael Pietrus, who replaced Allen, ended the game with 14 points.
John Wall continued his excellent run and hammered 27 points, to go along with 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Wizards. Nick Young scored 19 points; JaVale McGee had 13, but the Wizards had no answer to Boston’s brilliance
down the stretch;
"It's tough. The last five minutes we were right there," Wall said. "We've got to execute down the stretch."
The game got off to an even start. Pierce was hot for Boston early on. He scored 18 points in the first half, which ended with a 7 point unanswered Boston run for a 49-40 lead.
A 10-4 run early in the third then pushed the C’s to 61-46. But, the Wizards would come back with a 23-12 period to end the third down by only four, 69-73.
They tied the game early and took the lead on Young slam. He was however handed a technical for taunting, which Pierce converted in the form a free throw and then capped his ten consecutive points with a step back jumper to give
the Celtics a lead, they never relinquished again.
The Pierce jumper initiated a 10-2 pull away run for the Greens and they hung tight in the clutch to make it 3-0 over the Wizards this season.
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