Paul Pierce found his offensive swagger just in time.

The Captain had 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting, added nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block in a 92-88 Game 1 win over the Orlando Magic, stealing home-court advantage and taking a 1-0 lead in the best of-seven Eastern Conference Finals:

"We started out looking to be aggressive," Paul said. "Looking here [at the stat sheet], I only got 8 shots, so I know I could have been a little bit more aggressive. But I tried to create looks for the team and pick my spots. I was able to get to the line, rebound the ball and do other things to help us win and that was key. We stayed aggressive throughout the whole game."

The game was vintage Truth, as the Boston Globe described:

"That sequence was partly set up by Pierce’s third-quarter assertiveness — not that the Magic needed reminding about Pierce being a focal point. Pierce keyed a burst after Carter cut the Magic’s deficit to 45-42 early in the second half. Pierce countered with a 3-pointer 13 seconds later, then increased the advantage to 50-42 with 8:32 remaining in the third quarter. That started a 20-3 run over a 5:12 span, Pierce producing half the Celtics’ points."

After the game, No. 34 said he wasn’t happy with his low-key second quarter and decided he had to assert himself more in the third.

"I was a little upset with the way I played in the second quarter because I had more turnovers than shot attempts,’’ Paul said. "I was a little tentative. The key for me is just to stay aggressive. When the shot is there, take them. I thought I was passing up some shots in the second quarter. So I wanted, in the third quarter, that if the shot was there — Doc was telling me to be aggressive, take your time, the shots are going to be there, just take your time. I was able to be aggressive, whether I found guys or got to the midrange jumper.’’

Teammate Kendrick Perkins gave a rave review of Paul’s performance:

"I thought [Pierce] came out and he was attacking and he was aggressive," he said. "He was huge."

CRASH THE GLASS
Though his 22 points were a big factor in the victory, Paul also answered a challenge from his coach and teammates in a resounding way in Game 1.

Coach Doc Rivers stressed earlier in the postseason that the C’s needed more from No. 34 on the glass and The Truth answered the call with nine rebounds against the Magic on Sunday.

Paul talked in his postgame press conference about how his rebounding makes a difference for the team:

"The bigs and coach always talk about how the guards have to be able to come in and get the long rebounds," said Pierce. "Dwight is a load to box out, obviously, he’s the league’s leading rebounder. [Kendrick Perkins], he always says, ‘I’m going to put a body on him, whether I face guard, box him in or box him out.' The guard has to come in and get the rebounds. I think we made a conscious effort in that, not only me, but Ray, coming in and getting those long rebounds. That's going to be a key for us in this series, how well we rebound the ball against a very good rebounding team."

Of course, holding the Magic to a playoff low for them, with just 88 points helped. It started in the first, where Boston held an Orlando team averaging 27.5 points in the first quarter through eight playoff games to just 14 points to set the tone on defense early.

"We're a defensive team. That's our game," No. 34 said after the game. "We want to get into their shooters and we feel like we've got guys who can cover Dwight, such as Sheed, Perk and Baby, one on one, so that just allows us to get up on their shooters and be a little bit more aggressive not allow them to open up that three-point game. That's going to be the key through the rest of the playoffs and in this series. But that's pretty much who we are. We're a defensive team, apply the pressure and see what happens."

THREE-POINT PLAY
The Truth's basketball acumen is clear everytime he dons his No. 34 jersey and takes the floor, but one particularly heady play by Paul made a big difference in Game 1.

After taking a nine-point lead into the break, the C's watched that edge shrink to three in the first two minutes of the second half. Channeling his assertive side, Paul took matters into his own hands. After Kevin Garnett and Vince Carter traded jumpers, Paul followed with two consecutive buckets of his own to stretch the lead to eight.

Matt Barnes cut the lead back to six, but Perkins responded with a layup to push it back to eight. On Orlando's next offensive possession, Magic guard Jameer Nelson sent a bad pass Perkins' way and when Perkins recovered the loose ball and dished to Paul, Nelson tried to slow him. But Paul noticed Nelson coming to give a foul and heaved the ball toward the basket to draw a three-shot foul.

"It looked like he was going to foul me intentionally just to stop the break," No. 34 said. "Once I saw that, I wanted to just get the ball up as fast possible without putting it back on the ground, for three shots. The way he was looking, he was coming in to grab me and I just wanted to get the ball up."

Paul sank the trifecta at the line to give the Cs their first double-digit lead of the second half. That helped to spark a 17-3 run and give the Celtics a lead that reached as high as 27 points. They would need every point to hold off a late Orlando rally in the 92-88 win.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS
After Boston stole game 1, Paul expects the Magic to come out with more zest in Game 2.

While No. 34 praised his teammates for a complete effort in the game, The Truth said he hoped his team could continue to carry over momentum and avoid a letdown in Game 2:

"I really felt like the two days off was just enough. We’ve been playing every other day for the last week. We felt really good going into this game. The rhythm was there, the defense was there, the passing was there. We didn’t lose too much from the two days.

"But we’ve got to expect Orlando to be a lot better in Game 2, even though they had a week off. I don’t know if it helped or hurt them. Who knows what the outcome would have been if they had a shorter rest? Hopefully, we come into Game 2 with the same type of rhythm."

NEXT UP

Paul and the Celtics try to go up 2-0 on the Orlando Magic in Game 2 on Tuesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EST and the game can be seen nationwide on ESPN.

RELATED STORIES

Pierce makes his shots count (Boston Globe, May 17, 2010)

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2010/05/17/pier...
Paul Pierce returns to offensive flow (Boston Herald, May 17, 2010)
http://bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/20100517truth_bac...
Celtic notes: C’s offense opens things up for Allen and Pierce (CSNNE.com, May 16, 2010)
http://www.necn.com/05/16/10/Celtic-Notes-The-Need-for-Sheed-is-met/land...

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