With the clock ticking and the Boston Celtics trailing on Tuesday night, the ball went to Paul Pierce for a final shot.

So close.

The last look fell tantalizingly short, and the Celtics fell to the Milwaukee Bucks, 86-84.

After the game, the Truth said he felt good about his final attempt. As he told ESPN.com:

"I loved the shot," Pierce said. "I thought I got to my spot. Sometimes they fall and sometimes they don’t. That’s the way the ball bounces sometimes. We gave away some possessions there in the fourth quarter, we gave them a couple of layups and we let them get an eight-point lead late and then we had to grind. So we have to do a better job, especially in fourth quarters, of knuckling down."

Paul finished with 12 points, five assists, and three rebounds in the 86-84 loss to the Bucks. But it wasn’t a surprise that the final shot went to the Captain, as the Boston Globe described:

"The Bucks smartly fouled Pierce with 3.9 seconds left because they had a foul to give, limiting Doc Rivers’s play calling.

Pierce caught a pass from Rajon Rondo, dribbled to the right, and fired an elbow jumper that missed, ruining what would have been another impressive rally."

Paul also said the team's struggle to take charge with a lead late in the game led to the downfall:

"We have to do a better job of buckling down in the fourth quarter with the team up 4 or 6 and try to put them away," No. 34 said. "This was a possession by possession game when it came down to it. They made the necessary stops and necessary plays they needed down the stretch."

NEXT UP
Paul and the Celtics host the Memphis Grizzlies at the TD Garden tonight. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST. The game can be seen on CSNHD or listened to on WEEI.

RELATED STORIES
Bogut, Bucks hold off Celtics (ESPN.com, March 9, 2010)
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/teams/recap?gameId=300309015&sport=nba
Celtics misfire in fourth (Boston Globe, March 10, 2010)
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2010/03/10/celt...

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