Recap: Paul Pierce ain’t dead yet

In the effort at full disclosure, I proclaimed Paul Pierce “finished” during an afternoon IM session with John. I may have been wrong.

The Truth torched Cleveland for 40 points and 6 three pointers in the Celtics 103-91 win. The Cavs are awful and played without  Anderson Varejao (knee) tonight, but who are we to be picky? A win is a win.

The Green: Pierce shot 13-16 (6-7 3FG). You might want to double check my math but I think that’s 81%. He had 17 points in the 3rd quarter when the C’s stretched their lead to 20. He had 8 points in the 4th quarter to help seal the win. I was concerned he’d get three-happy late in the game, but he stayed aggressive. Oh yeah, Pierce chipped in 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and went 8-8 from the free throw line. I heard he also served drinks in the Legends Club after the game.

Rajon Rondo had a helluva game, too – 20 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals. He pushed the pace all night long.

The Gross: The Celtics led 80-60 with 2:54 remaining in the 3rd quarter. But rather than put the proverbial nail in the coffin, the Celtics let the Cavs rip off a 20-2 run. Kyrie Irving (22 points) and Tyler Zeller (20 points, 9-15 FG) flat-out feasted on the Celtics defense. Courtney Lee (6 points, 3 TOs and -9) and Jeff Green (3 points, 1-4 FG, -17) were awful.

Greenlights:

Rajon Rondo with the perfect lob to KG on the pick-and-roll

The Grid:

• The Celtics shot 59.7% FG and 52.9% 3FG
• The Cavs shot 40.9% FG
• Luke Walton had 3 points. Why is this relevant? Because I had no idea he was still in the league
• Jason Collins was whistled for a flagrant 1. It was a hard foul but he also got a lot of ball.

Doc Rivers continues to tinker with the rotation. Jason Collins started in place of Brandon Bass. Collins had 1 point, 2 rebounds and 6 fouls in 23 minutes. He wasn’t awful (a game high +23), but I’m pretty sure he wasn’t the key to tonight’s defensive resurgence. Chris Wilcox record a DNP-CD.

Box score