It took 10 years of persistence but Paul Pierce has finally done what it takes to deserve being mentioned among the greatest players in the history of the Boston Celtics — win an NBA title.
“In order to be a legend, you have to win a championship,” Pierce said.
Pierce captured his crown in spectacular fashion, averaging 21.8 points and 6.3 assists during the Celtics’ NBA Finals championship run that ended on Tuesday with a devastating 131-92 rout of the arch-rival Los Angeles Lakers.
Now Pierce’s jersey number, 34, will someday join those retired numbers honored with banners hanging from the rafters of the Boston Garden.
“I’m not living under the shadows of the other greats now. I’m able to make my own history,” Pierce said. “If I was going to be one of the best Celtics that ever played, I had to put up a banner and today we did that.”
Pierce was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player from Boston’s first title team since 1986 thanks in part to the defensive work he did in containing the regular season NBA Most Valuable Player, Lakers’ superstar Kobe Bryant.
“I think Paul was only viewed as a scorer and now I think people see him as a complete basketball player,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “He did it all.”
Second only to Larry Bird among Celtics’ players in scoring average, Pierce struggled as a star on a weak team for nine years until Boston added Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen for this season.
Boston made the greatest one-season turnaround in NBA history, leaping from the second-worst record in the NBA last season to a championship.
“It feels so great,” Pierce said. “I worked so hard, 10 long years with the Boston Celtics, going through my ups and downs. This is what makes those other things so sweet, knowing you were at rock bottom a year ago.
“To climb all the way back to the top, this is a dream come true and I’m going to cherish this one forever. It means everything.”
Pierce, selected 10th overall by Boston in the 1998 NBA Draft, showed his determination in September of 2000 after he was stabbed nearly a dozen times at a Boston nightclub.
After lung surgery and serious stab wounds to his neck and face and back, Pierce played every game for the Celtics in the following season.
“You tend to forget about injuries when you’re on that court playing for something special,” Pierce said.
A runner who stopped during a marathon in China to pose doing the splits and another who hoarded energy gels have been banned for two years, the local athletics association said yesterday. The incidents happened during Sunday’s marathon in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and were widely shared online. Videos showed a female runner stopping suddenly and dropping to the ground in the splits position, holding up her arms in a heart shape as she apparently posed for a photograph. She “committed obstructive fouls during the race, affecting the safe participation of other runners,” the Sichuan Athletics Association said in a statement, which identified
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
Workers are hammering, cranes are swinging and seats are being bolted into place — but the clock is ticking. Mexico City’s famous Azteca stadium, reborn as Estadio Banorte, is in a frantic race to be ready for its grand reopening on Saturday. Drone footage showed crews installing seats and attaching the new stadium name to the facade, with cranes looming overhead 48 hours before the gates are due to open for a high-profile friendly between Mexico and Portugal. For residents, the breakneck pace of construction has done little to inspire confidence. “I know they are working practically seven days a week, 24 hours
RSS