Hoops Habit
Fansided

The top 10 moments of Paul Pierce’s NBA career

By Gerald Bourguet

Feb 5, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; LA Clippers forward Paul Pierce (34) waves to the crowd after a game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; LA Clippers forward Paul Pierce (34) waves to the crowd after a game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 12
Next
Paul Pierce
Feb 5, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; LA Clippers forward Paul Pierce (34) on the bench during the first half against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

6. Career-High, Memorable Performances

We’re cheating a bit here, but these three Paul Pierce performances were just too memorable to leave off the list, so we’re going to lump them all together.

On Dec. 1, 2001, Pierce led his Celtics into New Jersey for a critical overtime win over the Nets — one of the premier teams in the East at the time. He dropped a career-high 48 points in the road win…with 46 of them coming in the second half.

In the 2002 NBA Playoffs the following season, Boston ran into an old rival in the Philadelphia 76ers. In a best-of-five first round series, Pierce came up clutch in the decisive Game 5.

In a complete rout, The Truth racked up a playoff career-high 46 points and six assists. He also just so happened to knock down eight of his 10 three-point attempts as well.

Finally, there was the first of many, many memorable duels with LeBron James in 2006. Though the King finished with a whopping 43 points in that regular season meeting, Pierce was even better, dropping a career-high 50 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in a staggering 54 minutes.

The Cavaliers won that overtime affair, but Boston’s other four starters were Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, Ryan Gomes and Raef LaFrentz. Yikes.

This game not only served as the highest-scoring game of Pierce’s career, but also provided some foreshadowing of the legendary head-to-head battles he would have with LeBron James down the road.

Home/Boston Celtics