Paul Pierce enjoyed his time in D.C. as a member of the Washington Wizards, and The Truth also had a triumphant return.

No. 34 earned his fourth start as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers and tallied nine points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal in a smooth 108-91 victory over his former squad. He talked at length with the Washington media about how much he enjoyed his time in D.C. and how he still has contact with his former Wizard teammates. The Truth also has the utmost respect for his former squad and the fans in the nation’s capital.

“I had a lot of fun here, man, truthfully,” Paul said. “Being around the young guys, teaching them every day, talking to them. This was one of my funnest years. Even though it was for one year, I had a lot of fun being around these guys. They welcomed me with open arms. I embraced the city, they embraced me back and I really enjoyed my time here.”

Los Angeles Clippers v Washington Wizards

Paul picked his spots throughout the night at the Verizon Center. The Clips started the night on a 6-0 run, which The Truth capped with an 18-foot turnaround J. L.A. stayed in control from there, never trailing the remainder of the night. After just 12 minutes, the Clips led by 14, 34-20.

The rest of The Truth’s scoring came in the second period. He buried two long two-pointers early in the quarter before knocking down a trifecta to stretch the lead to 19 at the 5:55 mark. Paul’s team-high seven points were matched by point guard Chris Paul in the second, but the Wiz chipped their way back behind eight points from point guard John Wall.

The two star point guards finished with similar lines: CP3 tallied 23 points and seven assists, while Wall had a 23-point, 11-assist double-double. But The Truth wouldn’t take sides in the best PG argument.

“It’s hard to distinguish one from the other going from (Rajon) Rondo to Wall to Chris,” Paul said. “Every point guard I play with I’m like he’s the best point guard in the league. I don’t know if it’s the Paul Pierce effect.”

Los Angeles Clippers v Washington Wizards

The Clippers couldn’t quite pull away in the third quarter, but they kept the Wiz at arm’s length, taking a 15-point lead into the final frame. But in the fourth, the L.A. bench shut the door. Paul and all five Clipper starters stayed seated throughout the fourth quarter while the reserves closed it out.

Cole Aldrich led the way with eight points and four rebounds, while Jamal Crawford added seven. They were excellent defensively as well, forcing seven turnovers and holding the Wizards to 36.8 percent shooting, earning some major praise from The Truth.

“Our bench was huge tonight,” Pierce said. “They came in scored a lot of points, got stops, and they put the game away for us.”

NEXT UP

The Clippers (19-13) head on to the fourth leg of a five-game road trip on Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets (17-13).

This is the first of two meetings between the Clips and the Hornets this season. Charlotte is currently riding a two-game win streak, most recently a 108-98 win over the Lakers.

Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. PT from Time Warner Cable Arena.

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