Well, now this is dicey. Celtics fans don't like Danny Crawford (for good reason, he's a bad ref - again, not why we lost, but he's terrible) and tonight didn't help matters any. With that said, we have to hope that the league agrees with him about the head butting incident if we hope to see Pierce avoid suspension.
Ref Dan Crawford: Pierce got tech for taunting - CBSSports.com
Q: What did Paul Pierce do to merit the 2nd technical with 7:00 remaining?
Crawford: "It's what we call a verbal taunt. He directed profanity towards (Dwyane) Wade. And in the rulebook, that is a verbal taunt. And it just so happened to be Pierce's second technical foul."
Q: What did Pierce do for the technical after the (James) Jones foul with 7:59 left?
Crawford: "The first technical foul, it was contact during a dead ball. He approached Jones and got right in his face. There wasn't a head-butt, but he got right into his face after a hard foul.
As much as I hate it, the refs were a big part of the story tonight. Let us hope they are not much of the story for the rest of the series.
As for Pierce, I love him and I wouldn't change his competitiveness or swagger, but this reminded me a little too much of the 2005 playoffs for my taste. Update: Jackie MacMullan agrees.
2011 NBA playoffs: Paul Pierce's behavior against Miami Heat inexcusable - ESPN Boston
It was an appalling development for the team captain and supposed leader, who, instead of helping Boston scratch back from a deficit that was as high as 19 points, lost his composure and was forced to watch the remainder of the game from the locker room in disgrace. Again.