Comeback Kid

by Jeff Clark on May 13, 2009 11:24 AM EDT in Articles Comment 11 comments

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

Pierce calmly helps the Celtics come back to win.

May 25, 2002: In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Nets lead the Celtics by 21 points after 3 quarters. The Celtics, led by Paul Pierce (19 of his 28 points came in the 4th) outscore the Nets 41-16 in the last quarter to win 94-90.

June 12, 2008: In the Finals, the Lakers led by as much as 24 points (and 20 points at halftime). Paul Pierce led all scorers with 20 points and hit the clinching free throws to finish comeback (allowing the Celtics to take a 3-1 lead on the way to a Championship).

May 12, 2009: In the Conference Semifinals, the Magic led by 14 points late in the game and were still up 10 points with 5:39 left in the game. The Celtics storm back to win the game (Pierce made a critical layup and played well on defense in another great all-round game by him).

See a common thread here?

I don't mean to take anything away from the other participants in any of those games. Antoine Walker helped in 2002. Eddie House was huge in the Finals comeback. Big Baby and Marbury led the way last night. (and team defense is often overlooked in all these types of wins) But Paul Pierce just has a knack for being in these types of games.

To be fair, you could question why his teams find themselves in a hole. To come back from a large deficit you first have to be down by a lot. However, I'll submit that everyone has bad games from time to time. Some chose to fight back. Some even succeed. Few seem to succeed as often as Paul Pierce.

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Pierce Was A Calming Factor.

Pierce was aggressive when he had to be, he was a facilitator when he had to be, In those last 9 seconds he was showing guys how to commit the foul. Aside from Pierce, KG was involved in keeping Baby grounded. Baby was great and KG was in his ear at the end to make sure he kept his emotions in check.

"I don't come to play, I come to WIN"--Larry Bird
"Criminally Negligent Officiating"--Tommy Heinsohn

by TrueGreen on May 13, 2009 11:30 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

And

some men see things as they are and say “why?” PP dreams things that never were and says “Why not?”

by The Real Large James 2 on May 13, 2009 11:40 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

THAT’S THE TRUTH!

by PPierce_is_Fierce on May 13, 2009 11:53 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You could easily argue that comebacks have been going on long before The Truth

walked through that door.

I had a post last night reminiscing about great Celtic comebacks:

1) 1974 – being down 12 to the Buffalo Braves in the opening quarter. Huge in the Dave Cowens – Bob McAdoo Rivelry.

2) 1984 – Game 4 NBA Finals Celtics down 10 in the 4th Qtr but Ole Larry led them back in the Hostile Forum. A defining moment in Larry’s career.

3) 1981 – ECF Games 5, 6, and 7 – Boston had double digit deficits in the 2nd half and came back from all of them in the Greatest Series Ever Played.

4) 1988 – Bird vs Dominique – Came from 2-3 down.

5) 1987 – A Steal by Bird!!!!

I’m sure you old timers have comeback stories of the 1960’s to keep the Dynasty going.

Boston Celtics - 2008 World Champions

by QuinielaBox on May 13, 2009 12:20 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

nice

thanks for the quick history lesson

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V

by Jeff Clark on May 13, 2009 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don't forget HAVLICEK STOLE THE BALL 8^)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdMPSYtQeIQ

by TX Celt on May 13, 2009 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

great game 4s

we’ve also had more than one of these … the ‘84 finals, ’08 finals — both against the lakers — add bbd’s buzzer-beater at orlando to the list

by celtsucka on May 14, 2009 4:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

‘Toine was the guy who kept the team together during first 3 or so games in that NJ ECF series. Pierce did the heavy lifting but without ’Toine screaming and hollerin’ that team falls apart after their dismal first quarters (that series was HARD to watch, they avg’d like 15 first quarter points).

Pierce is a good comeback player because he can hit 3’s but also slow the game down by getting to the line. He is also an easy player to get up against because he can fall in love with the 20-footer and sometimes is.. um.. lazy? He is still my fave player though haha.

by TulsaCsFan on May 13, 2009 12:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Picking and choosing... LOL...

…is the common thread. I think one can come up with twice as many examples of games where we lost because of his bad plays.

But last night was his night. As I posted on another thread, Paul played with effort, ding all the little things that matter, taking it to the hole early and getting fouls, defense when it counted, etc. The effort I saw last night hasn’t been there is many of the playoff games. Glad to see him back. If he plays with the same effort, we repeat as NBA champions. It’s that simple.

by The Village Idiot on May 13, 2009 4:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs