Last summer, Paul Pierce joined the Washington Wizards in one of the marquee moves of the 2014 NBA offseason. Throughout his 17th NBA season, Paul provided the budding young D.C. squad with some marvelous performances that allowed them to advance into the playoffs, where he continued to shine. This offseason, we’re looking back at his Top 5 performances of the season.

Third on the list was a fantastic night for Paul on both ends of the floor in a thrilling double-overtime victory over his former team, the Boston Celtics.

NO. 3—DEC. 8, 2014: PAUL BEATS BOSTON IN 2OT

In the two full seasons since Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics went their separate ways, few games have had the emotional impact as those featuring Paul returning to the city where he played 15 incredible years.

He visited Boston as a Washington Wizard for the first time on December 7, but his 16 points weren’t enough and the Celtics snuck away with a 101-93 win. The next night, the two teams met in the nation’s capital for the second half of a home-and-home back-to-back, and the second feature was well worth the price of admission.

The Truth, perhaps looking to avenge the previous night’s loss, went off for a team-high 28 points on 9-for-12 shooting, including 4-for-5 from three and 6-for-6 from the free throw line, and he added seven rebounds, three assists and two steals as the Wizards emerged victorious in a 133-132 double overtime classic.

Boston Celtics v Washington Wizards

Washington let a 23-point third-quarter lead slip away and the game had all the makings of a disaster, but Paul and All-Star point guard John Wall kept the Wizards alive with stellar performances.

“It was a tough one, especially since we had such a big lead and let the lead go,” Paul said after the game. “This team is showing a lot of characteristics of a pretty good team. We’re trying to strive for greatness, but a lot of lessons can be learned, even in a win. I’m glad we were on the winning side, especially since we blew a big lead. This says a lot about what we have here in this locker room…We had to have this one.”

No. 34 scored 25 points in regulation to carry the Wizards in the first 48 minutes, then added the game-tying three pointer at the end of the first overtime. After that, Wall took over; the speedy guard scored 10 of Washington’s 12 points in the second overtime period and finished with 26 points, a career-high 17 assists and seven rebounds.

Afterward, Wall delivered an incredibly emotional postgame interview, as he revealed that a young girl he had befriended had passed away that morning.

“Man, he was unbelievable for us in overtime,” Paul said of the Wizards’ star point guard, who had a breakout season in his first year as a teammate of The Truth. “He just got to the rim at will, he just pushed the ball and like I said before, he’s growing right before our eyes, not only from a star to a superstar, but into one of the very best players few in this league at his position, if not the best. And you can see it each and every week, he shows something to make you think like ‘Man, is he not the best point guard? He’s our leader. Everybody talks about Paul the veteran, but he’s one of our leaders on this ballclub and when he speaks, we listen.”

Boston Celtics v Washington Wizards

Despite the heavy praise for Wall, The Truth was pretty spectacular himself. He picked up his fifth foul midway through the fourth period, yet played the rest of the game and slowed down explosive scorer Jeff Green.

Green, who went for 25 points the night before, managed 28 points in the second game, but he was held to just four points after regulation thanks to Paul’s lockdown defense. The future Hall of Famer was especially relentless with his on-ball defense in the second extra frame, where Green 0-for-2 with no points.

No. 34 also drew a charge on Green with just 37 ticks on the clock in the second overtime and Washington up by one, giving the Wizards a chance to run the clock down and add to their lead. It was an incredibly gutsy play by the 17-year veteran, who could have taken himself out of the game if he hadn’t gotten his feet planted. Instead, it helped the Wizards seal the win.

“I’m a smart player,” Paul said after the game. “If you look across the years, I don’t really foul out a lot. I know when I have four or five, I know how to be cautious of that. I’m very aware of it, I think I’ve only fouled out of less than 20 games career, so I know how to play with five fouls.”

The Truth played the final 15 minutes or so of the game just one foul away from disqualification, and his defense in that time was perhaps the best individual defense any player displayed all game. His pestering forced Green to miss five of his six shots from the field in the two overtime periods, and that was just as important for the Wizards as Wall’s offensive explosion in the extra time.

“He definitely takes pride in his challenge,” Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal said that night of Paul. “He makes sure that his player has a bad shooting night. He’s going to do whatever it takes to get a stop. That charge was big for us. He does a great job of sacrificing his body. … He does a great job of taking that leadership, taking a step because that gets everybody else involved. Everybody else wants to make plays like that as well.”

Still, Paul is one of the greatest offensive weapons in NBA history, and that night was yet another reminder of that fact. With a free throw in the second quarter, The Truth moved past legendary shooter Reggie Miller for 16th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

“I think it’s all great but I really don’t think it’s going to sink in until I’m done playing,” Paul said that night of his milestone, his most recent at the time but far from his last of the season. “Everything is still going, I still have a lot of basketball left to play, I’ve accomplished a lot of things in this game but I don’t think it’s really going to truly sink in until I sit down, walk away from the game and say, ‘Dang, look at the things you’ve been able to accomplish.’ Right now I’m just riding this wave, you know, I’m still on my surfboard.”

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