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.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
Defender Steph Catley says her UEFA Women’s Champions League title win with Arsenal last week will act as motivation to secure continental glory with Australia when the country hosts the Women’s Asian Cup next year. Catley and compatriots Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross were part of the Arsenal squad that defeated Barcelona in Lisbon on Sunday last week, before flying to Melbourne to feature in the Matildas’ 2-0 win over Argentina on Friday. The game was the first in a two-match series against the South Americans as the Australians continue preparations for the continental championship in March next year, when they would
RSS