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"We didn’t come out with the defensive attitude like we needed to," Pierce said. "It was in the first half and it really carried over to the second half. They pretty much got whatever they wanted. We gave up a 3, we gave up inside, we gave up outside, we gave up rebounding. Hopefully this is a wakeup call. We’re in the middle of a trip and we can bounce back tomorrow."
[…] "We just got to understand who we are," Pierce said. "We’re a defensive group. I think we tried to play their game. We got caught into the run and gun instead of really settling them down, getting the ball to Kevin more on the inside, taking advantage of that."
WEEI: Pierce: "Hopefully this is a wake up call"
Just like poor ol' Wile E. Coyote, the Celtics can't get caught up in putting on their ACME rocket shoes and chasing these kids around in a run-and-gun style of play.
At one point at halftime, when it was still close, Paul Flannery tweeted about how fun the game was so far… but it was time for the C's to take the fun out of it (a play on this). Instead, they let the Kings have all the fun while they rolled over and quit.
I was shaking my head after last night's game… but I should thank Doc for putting this into some kind of perspective:
“If we can win a lot of games and have one of these every once in a while, I can live with that. I don’t want this to be a habit.’’
I guess it depends on what the C's do tonight. Can they bounce back against the Nuggets, or will we find more excuses?
Related links: ESPN Boston: Consistently inconsistent C's
On Page 2: Pierce's ankle feels ok
"It’s a little sore, I just twisted it at the end," said Pierce. "It should be fine, though. We'll see how it goes. It's sore, but hopefully it won't swell up on the plane."
Pierce said he stepped on the foot of Sacramento's Marcus Thornton while setting a fourth-quarter screen right before Boston's starters were about to be subbed out with the team down 20 with 6:24 to go. Pierce got examined by team trainer Ed Lacerte on the bench then departed for the locker room.
Pierce appeared to be moving well after talking to reporters before departing Power Balance Pavilion. Celtics coach Doc Rivers still expressed mild concern about the injury.
"I’m always concerned, but I don’t think it’s bad," said Rivers. "We don’t know. I was about to take him out anyway, so I just hope [Pierce going to the locker room is] more that than anything else."
ESPN Boston: Pierce hoping to play vs. Denver
It'll be sore, but I'm sure he's going to be fine. I suppose we'll have to wait and see for the "game time decision"… but I'd be surprised if Pierce isn't in this game.
Related links: CSNNE: Pierce, despite twisted ankle, hopes to play Saturday | Herald: Pierce's night took wrong turn
The rest of the links:
CSNNE: Celtics-Kings, what we saw | Kings treat Celtics like Jesters | Hayes relates to Wilcox's situation | ESPN Boston: KG praises cousins | WEEI: Rivers: Chris Johnson an option | Herald: C's run past Celtics | C's to the end | Globe: Clifford Ray landed on his feet
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