In the fourth quarter of a key matchup against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, Paul Pierce squared up and knocked down a dagger from beyond the arc, just as he has many times in his career—but this one was special.

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Not only did it help to deliver a crucial 105-99 victory against one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams, but it also was No. 1,989 for Paul’s career, moving him past Jason Kidd to No. 4 on the NBA’s all-time three-point shooting list.

Hours after the milestone achievement, Paul posted on Instagram, warning former teammate Jason Terry, currently third all-time with 2,017 three-pointers made, that he’s next.

“Thank you all for pushing me to be great,” Paul wrote. “Fourth all-time in three-pointers made is pretty amazing. Next: Jason Terry. I’m coming after you, Jet.”

To go along with his milestone, The Truth put together one of his best performances of the season, and showed his team, the Bulls and the national TV audience why he’s a lock for the Hall of Fame.

No. 34 tallied a team-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting with six rebounds and two assists, while guiding his squad back from an 11-point deficit to a road victory at the United Center.

Defensively, The Truth helped hold Chicago’s starting wing players, Jimmy Butler and Tony Snell, to a combined 6-of-19 shooting and just 20 points—less than the scoring average for Butler alone (20.7 PPG), so far this season.

Washington Wizards v Chicago Bulls

Chicago has been regarded as one of the favorites in the East and the win went a long way toward proving the Wiz can post a vital victory on the road against top competition.

“You have certain games that are statement games,” Paul said Wednesday night. “It wasn’t a statement to them, but it was a statement to ourselves, I think. Just to show ourselves that we could finally go on the road in a back-to-back, a tough situation, and get a tough road win. We have to prove that to ourselves more than trying to show that we can beat the Chicago Bulls. It wasn’t a matter of the Chicago Bulls, it was a matter of whoever it was tonight, being on the road in a back-to-back situation, we wanted to prove to ourselves that we can get that W in a tough situation.”

Though that monumental three-ball was his most significant shot of the night, it was just one of many buckets The Truth knocked down to help the Wizards pull out the victory.

After the Wizards ended the second quarter on a small run to narrow a deficit that was once as high as 11 to just six at the break, Paul keyed an 11-3 run to open the second half.

During that run, No. 34 drained two mid-range jumpers, then capped it off with a trey with 8:30 remaining in the third that gave Washington its first lead since the opening quarter.

That was part of an 11-point third quarter for Paul, who made four of his six shots and played every second of the frame.

He also made a veteran play that won’t show up in the box score, but bailed the Wizards out of a terrible possession and helped quiet the Chicago crowd.

Washington Wizards v Chicago Bulls

Late in the third quarter, with the Wizards up by two and the Bulls starting to regain some momentum, Washington stalled on offense. The ball remained stagnant for about 20 seconds, then it found its way to No. 34 in an awkward position below the rim. The pass shouldn’t have been made, as Paul had no angle at a shot, but with just seconds left on the shot clock, the wily 17-year veteran made his move.

He caught Butler with one of his legendary pump fakes, sending the young guard into the air, then went up for the shot and drew the contact, earning a trip to the line and saving what was an otherwise poor possession.

While the 37-year-old small forward can still stuff a box score, his real impact, as has been so well documented, is his leadership and savvy. The intangibles are off the chart, his teammates constantly heap praise on him and others are starting to take notice of the little things he does in games that produce big results.

Wednesday’s victory, the second in two nights against a team expected to contend for the NBA Championship, helped bring these features to light.

After beating the San Antonio Spurs for the first time in almost a decade on Tuesday night, many expected the Wizards would come out flat in Chicago. After Derrick Rose dropped 17 points in the first quarter, it certainly seemed as though Washington could be in for a long night.

But with their backs pressed against the wall, facing a double-digit deficit, the Wiz drew on the mentality Paul has been instilling since he arrived, and flipped the script on Chicago.

“We’re not a team that’s going to come in here and have any moral victories,” Paul told reporters after helping the Wizards improve to 27-12. “We’re trying win every game we come out and play. We knew what we did wrong in the first half, we’re a team that, when we don’t turn the ball over, and we pass and share to each other, we’re a tough team to beat. But when we’re turning the ball over more than we assist, it gives the other team chances, and the second half we didn’t turn it over as much.”

The Wiz outscored the Bulls 32-19 in the third quarter and took a 76-69 lead into the final frame. There, the Bulls had cut the deficit to just two, 85-83, with a little over five minutes to go before Paul and Co. went to work.

D.C. mounted a 10-2 run, capped by the big trey from No. 34 that made it 95-85 in favor of the Wizards and forced a Chicago timeout. The Bulls made a last-ditch rally and threatened late behind some desperate three-point shooting, but Wall and Nene combined to score Washington’s final 10 points to seal the deal.

Washington Wizards v Chicago Bulls

Washington has now won five of its last six games, and all but one of those games came against teams with a winning record, proving that the Wiz appear to be coming together and clicking at the right time. They retained their hold on second place in the Eastern Conference, just four games behind the streaking Atlanta Hawks.

“Oh I love it. You know, everybody has their opinion,” Paul said about experts overlooking the Wizards. “It’s the reason I decided to come to this team, because I saw something, and we’re just going to go out there and grow, and show it each and every night. Right now, not a lot of people talk about us, but that’s OK. Fly under the radar and see where we are at the end of the year.”

As a follow-up, a reporter then asked The Truth what a realistic goal is this year for Washington, wondering if a championship is something the Wizards can honestly think about.

“I wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t the goal,” Paul deadpanned.

NEXT UP

The Wizards get a brief day of rest before they host the Brooklyn Nets at the Verizon Center on Friday in the first night of a home-and-home. After that game, both teams travel back to Brooklyn for the encore, which will complete Washington’s four-in-five stretch.

It will mark the first time No. 34 plays the Nets, who he spent last season with, as a Wizard, though it won’t have nearly the significance of a game against the Boston Celtics for Paul. His one year in Brooklyn was forgettable, not just for Paul but for the whole team, and the incredibly expensive Nets team has crashed and burned in a remarkable way, with The Truth being one of the only ones to get out safely.

“We have an identity. Teams that are still trying to figure out their identity at this point of the season probably aren’t doing too good. Everybody understands that this is not a one-man show. Any given night, we have four, five, six, seven guys who you could put in double figures. We have a leading scorer, definitely, but any given night, we have about five or six guys that have put up a 20-point game at some point. We’re an unselfish team, we’re a defensive team, a pass-first team, that’s our identity. It’s fun to play together, and everybody understands that, and we’re having a lot of fun doing it.”

The Nets sit in eighth place with a 16-23 record.

The game will be shown locally on Comcast Sports Net and will tip off at 7 p.m. ET.

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