03/22/2010 - 17:06
Truth Masters Texas Two-Step
by
Evelyn Lau
The rest of the season began this weekend for the Boston Celtics.
With Paul Pierce in vintage form, the Celtics turned what was supposed to be a tough weekend in Texas, into two more wins.
The Captain posted back-to-back 20-plus point games against the Houston Rockets on Friday and then Dallas Mavericks on Saturday as the Cs rolled through the heart of the Lone-Star State for a weekend sweep. Paul told NESN that this weekend was only the beginning for the Celts.
"We’re trying to gather momentum for the playoffs," said Paul Pierce, who had 29 points and five assists in Boston’s win over Dallas. "I’m healthy, Kevin [Garnett] is healthy, and we’re ready to roll."
Paul got it going Friday with 26 points, five rebounds, and one assist. The next night, he was even better with 29 points, three rebounds, and five assists.
The offensive output was nothing short of what’s expected from the Truth. With the trainer's room becoming less crowded, Paul is ready to show the rest of the league what the Cs are capable of when everyone is healthy. But NESN reports the momentum Boston is building begins with Paul:
"For the Celtics, it all has to start with the captain. And while Pierce has had his share of setbacks this season, injuring everything from his foot to his thumb to his knee to his back, he’s finding his stride now. Everyone who thought Pierce was too old, too slow, too apathetic to carry this team? The Truth has told all the doubters where they can shove their criticism.
Twenty-nine points against the Knicks on Wednesday, on 11-of-17 shooting. Twenty-six against the Rockets, on 9-of-14. Twenty-nine against the Mavericks, 10-of-17. This is the kind of production you expect from your captain, your leader, your eight-time All-Star.
"He’s starting to get his confidence," Doc Rivers said. "Right now he’s still searching a little bit. You can see it during the middle of games more. I got on him in a timeout because I thought he was looking to pass too much, which I don’t think I’ve ever had to say to Paul, and told him to just be aggressive. ‘Just be who you are,’ and he was that."
Against the Mavericks, Paul stepped up his game to ensure the ‘W’ as the Boston Herald explained:
"The Celtics were tired — they had just played Friday night in Houston — so Doc Rivers used the bench extensively to save the starters for the final stretch run. That required a great deal of confidence because the bench allowed the Mavericks to seize an 82-75 lead with 8:34 left. One minute 37 seconds later, Rivers inserted Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce and the Celtics ended the game on a 27-11 run."
CAPTAIN HONORED
Paul's return from injury has ignited his teammates and this week it earned No. 34 some weekly hardware.
The Truth was named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for work in helping Boston put together a four-game winning streak last week.
The Truth's impressive numbers throughout the week made the selection a no-brainer, as noted in the NBA Press Release:
Pierce led Boston to a 4-0 week, with wins over Detroit, New York, Houston and Dallas. Pierce averaged 24.8 points – 6.7 points above than his season average (18.1 ppg) – on .630 shooting in 26.4 minutes. Pierce also added 3.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals. On March 20, Pierce scored 29 points and added five assists, three rebounds and two steals in the Celtics’ 102-93 win at Dallas.
NEXT UP
Paul and the Celtics finish their three-game road streak in Utah where they take on the Jazz. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. EST. The game can be seen on CSNHD or listened heard on WEEI.
RELATED STORIES
Paul Pierce, Celtics Earn Statement Wins in Texas (NESN.com, March 21, 2010)
http://www.nesn.com/2010/03/paul-pierce-celtics-earn-statement-wins-in-s...
Celtics step up in Texas (Boston Herald, March 21, 2010)
http://bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?&articleid=124...
Finally coming into their own (Boston Globe, March 21, 2010)
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2010/03/21/fina...
Pierce named Eastern Conference Player of Week (Boston Globe, March 22, 2010)
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2010...
