Paul Pierce didn’t have anything to say to reporters Wednesday morning, and Wednesday night in Miami, he let his play speak for him.

No. 34 apologized to reporters at Brooklyn’s morning shootaround, saying that he was in “locked-in mode” and wouldn’t take questions until after the game. Later in the day, he chalked up 29 points to lead the Nets to a 96-95 win over the Miami Heat, giving the media plenty to ask about.

After his huge night, he talked about how and why he was so locked in for Brooklyn’s big meeting with the defending NBA champs.

“Playing in so many of these big games, you always try to get yourself prepared mentally, physically,” Pierce said. “You know what it’s going to take to be in these types of territories and try to get a win. From the time I woke up and at shootaround, I was really locked in as I said this morning, understanding this was going to be one of our toughest games to date.”

“You try to instill it in your teammates. That’s what I tried to do and I think that’s why they’ve got me here.”

The outburst from Pierce started early, as he notched seven first-quarter points—and the effort seemed to rub off on Brooklyn’s reserve swingman Mirza Teletovic, who carried on with 11 points in the second quarter.

While The Truth and Teletovic were hot early, the Heat kept up shot-for-shot, and the game was tied at the end of both the first and second quarters.

Then, in the third, No. 34 snapped. Paul dropped 17 points in the third frame off 5-of-5 shooting from the floor and 3-of-3 shooting from deep. He canned his first three off a feed from Deron Williams early in the quarter and buried another triple in transition off a handoff from his point guard late in the frame.

Afterward, Williams praised the play of Pierce, saying that, despite his 15-plus of NBA years of experience on his body, The Truth still rings loud in big situations.

“He wanted this game and he came out and played like it. That’s what he’s about,” D-Will said. “”Paul’s got too much left in the tank to be a role player. You see what he can do. He can explode every night. He loves these big games. He loves these moments.”

While Pierce played the leading role in the third, he had no problem passing the baton early in the fourth. He and the rest of the Brooklyn starters rested to start the quarter, and head coach Jason Kidd was about to plug Pierce and Co. back in.

However, Teletovic was busy in Pierce’s stead carrying on his big game by knocking down a pair of threes, part of a 17-point night. So Pierce told Kidd to let the hot-handed Teletovic say on the court.

“Mirza was on fire and that’s something about the guys on the bench,” Kidd said. “They always let me know to let guys stay. Paul said, ‘Let him go, he’s going.’ I wanted to come back with Paul a little earlier, but Mirza was knocking down his shot and he was spreading the defense. So that was just Paul being unselfish.”

Eventually Kidd plugged Pierce back in the game at the 4:11 mark. The strategy of Kidd and Paul worked to perfection, as No. 34 was fresh enough to knock down two of the game’s biggest shots.

Less than 30 seconds after re-entering, Paul connected on another three to give Brooklyn a four-point, 90-86, advantage. However, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh teamed up for the answer and Paul once again found the ball in his hands with the game at a 92-92 tie.

He used a deft pump fake to ditch Wade, then put the ball on the floor and drove past Bosh to kiss the go-ahead layup off the glass and give Brooklyn a 94-92 lead. After the game, Wade couldn’t help but pay a complement to The Truth.

“I would say that this year he has played better versus us than the last couple years in Boston,” Wade said. “There is bad blood there with us in the playoffs, but you can respect what he has done and continues to do in this game.”

Brooklyn never gave up that lead and closed out the 96-95 triumph. After the victory, it was smiles all around for Paul and the Nets.

“Well, this feels good, man,” Pierce said. “We were written off early. It feels good for us to be able to turn this thing around. We had these visions of playing like this before the season started, Unfortunately, it just took a little bit longer than we expected. So I’m glad we were able to turn it around at this point in the season at the right time.”

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