For the eighth time this postseason, Paul Pierce scored more than 20 points in a game.

Unfortunately, for just the second time in this playoff run, it didn't prove to be enough.

The Captain had a near double-double, posting team highs with 24 points and nine rebounds in 46 minutes of action. But despite Paul's standing as the second-leading scorer in the contest, the Boston Celtics fell to the rival LA Lakers, 102-89, in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.

One of Boston's downfalls was its inability to find rhythm from long range, going just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc. One upshot, however, was that the C's reached the free-throw line 36 times as opposed to the 31 for the Lakers and it was No. 34 who paved the way, going 12-of-13 from the stripe for the Celts.

In his shooting from the field, Paul knocked down six of 13 shots and No. 34 was active in all four quarters. He scored nine points in the first on five free throws and a pair of buckets. His driving layup at the 6:22 mark brought the Celtics within two and he hit a jumper just over a minute later to stop a 4-0 Lakers burst.

But despite Paul's early effectiveness, LA jumped out to a lead and held a nine-point halftime edge. From there, they built on their lead, though the Captain tried once again to lead a comeback, as the Boston Globe described:

"And they kept Paul Pierce, who tried valiantly, yet in vain, to spark a Celtics comeback in the fourth quarter, from torching them like two years ago when he was Finals MVP. Pierce ended up with 24 points, but 13 of them came in the fourth quarter after LA had already built a 20-point lead."

The Truth said the loss was disappointing and not the way he and his teammates wanted to start off the series. However, Paul made it clear that they would turn their frustration into motivation for Game 2, as he told the Boston Globe:

"We take a lot of pride. You saw it in guys' faces, you heard it, from reactions after the game, just how guys felt. It wasn't a typical loss locker room. There was some angry people in there and they showed us. But that's just the pride. The guys in there got pride and don't want to lose the way we did. We can deal with losing because it's part of the game, you lose games, you win games. But you can't deal with it when you lose the way we did. We're down 20, they beat us to the hustle plays. That don't sit well with me at all."

Paul also told the Boston Herald he felt that perhaps his team got outhustled in the opening game:

"That’s all it is. It’s effort," said Paul Pierce. "There’s no skill. There’s no designed play to get rebounds. It’s just about the mentality you’ve got to have when that ball goes up or the ball is loose to go out there and get it."

It wasn't the usual solid Celtics defense that had led to a return trip to the Finals, as the Herald noted:

"That said, Pierce couldn’t believe what he saw on the stat sheet. The Lakers became only the second opponent in the last nine games to score more than 100 points against the Celtics. Both times resulted in losses."

The 102 points was the most Boston had allowed since Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals and only the fifth time in 18 postseason games this season that Boston let an opponent get over 100. Looking to Game 2, the Truth said there will be changes and adjustments, as he told the Herald:

"We watch the film and learn from it - that’s all you can do," Pierce said. "Obviously there’s going to be a lot of things we can do better when you give up 100 points, give up 48 percent shooting."

Paul gave credit to the Lakers for being able to come out aggressive but also still believes the Cs will bounce back, as he told the Globe:

"We knew that. I felt like we pretty much let them run what they wanted to run,’’ said Pierce, who had team highs of 24 points and nine rebounds. "There was no resistance. I looked up and we gave up 100 points, I haven’t seen that for a while. We’ve got our work cut out for us. They definitely put us on our heels."

However, there is a bright spot in the Game 1 loss. Much like he guarded LeBron James during the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Paul had some minutes on LA's Kobe Bryant. While guarding Bryant, the Captain shut him down, holding him 0-of-6 shooting.

Perhaps that is a sign of things to come for Game 2 and beyond.

NEXT UP
Paul and the C's try to go for the split in LA when Game 2 tips off from the Staples Center on Sunday. A victory on Sunday would quickly erase the momentume built by the Lakers in Game 1 and steal home courts as the teams head back to Boston.

The ball goes up at 8 p.m. EST and the game will be televised nationally on ABC.

RELATED STORIES
Rough start (Boston Globe, June 4, 2010)
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2010/06/04/roug...
Reactions from the loss (Boston Globe, June 4, 2010)
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2010...
Defensive shell doomed Celtics (Boston Globe, June 4, 2010)
http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/gasper/2010/06/defensive_shell.html
Celtics get (out)hustled (Boston Herald, June 4, 2010)
http://bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/20100604celtics_g...
Celtics’ effort missing in opener (Boston Herald, June 4, 2010)
http://bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/20100604tough_lak...

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