After missing three straight games, Paul Pierce made his return to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night and it was just in the nick of time for the slumping Celtics.

Despite sitting out a full week with a sprained thumb, No. 34 returned to score nine points in 29 minutes on the court as the Celts beat the Detroit Pistons, 105-100, to snap a two-game losing streak.

Though his output was enough to help Boston to victory, the Captain admitted after the win to feeling a bit sluggish in his return to the Cs, as CSN New England reported:

"[Pierce] acknowledged after the win that his conditioning still needed some work to get back to where it was prior to the thumb injury.

"I was a little winded at first, just trying to get my legs up under me," Pierce said. "I plan on getting better as I continue to play."

Boston coach Doc Rivers said the nine-day layover between games may have affected Paul’s performance as ESPN.com reported:

"Paul was rusty," said Rivers. "That’s going to happen. We’ve got to use these games to get Paul going."

Despite the slow start in his return, Paul is still optimistic that the C’s can pull together for a strong playoff run once everyone is healthy as he told the Boston Globe:

"A lot of sickness, you battle injuries all year long," Pierce said after Boston’s 105-100 victory over the Pistons. "Eventually, we’ll be able to put a full team out there for a long stretch, hopefully pretty soon, and hopefully we go on a run. We’re going to have to get some momentum pretty soon here going into the playoffs, start playing better basketball at this point in the season."

TOUGH TO WATCH
Paul missed only three games with the thumb injury, a win and two losses, but as the Truth told the Boston Herald, just sitting and watching became tough:

"It was difficult, man, just watching my team go through what it went through," the captain said after Monday's practice. "I started thinking maybe I shouldn’t have showed up to the games. I didn’t show up for the New York game and we won, so maybe it was something I did."

Getting to watch the Celts as an interested spectator, Paul said one thing stood out as a weakness over those few games:

"I think the thing we’re always going to point to is our defense, because we’re a defensive team first. We’ve got to get better in pick-and-roll defense. I think that’s really affecting how we play on offense. When the defense is going well, it seems like the offense is going really well. Then when one thing is not going, it’s vice versa. So one thing that’s got to remain constant is our defense and being consistent there, because there are going to be nights when our shot’s not going to fall and things aren’t going to go our way."

Paul also told the Herald that while sitting back and watching was painful, the time off the court did give him a chance to refresh:

"I feel great," Pierce said. "It really felt good to get up and down the court. I think the main issue with me was just making sure I could catch the ball, dribble it, shoot it without any pain. And I feel great.

"(The break has) been really good for me. I had a chance to just get my body some rest. I got some conditioning and was able to lift, get my body back stronger, heal some of the injuries so I can be ready."

NEXT UP
Paul and the C’s host the Charlotte Bobcats tonight at the TD Banknorth Garden. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST. The game can be seen on CSNHD or listened to on WEEI.

RELATED STORIES
Celtics notes: Pierce struggles in return (CSNNE.com, March 3, 2010)
http://www.csnne.com/pages/landing?Celtics-notes-Pierce-struggles-in-ret...
Perkins’s absence overcome (Boston Globe, March 3, 2010)
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2010/0/03/perki...
Postgame notes: Seldom Shelden, Captain’s comeback (ESPN.com, March 3, 2010)
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4672216/postgame-notes-...
Thumb's up for Paul Pierce (Boston Herald, March 2, 2010)
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=...

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