Jenny Jepson
Journal Contributor
The Celtics have been struggling with the 2011-2012 season, but there have several noteworthy moments during this brief and shortened NBA season. Last week, one of those moments occurred when Paul Pierce passed Larry Bird to become the second highest scorer in franchise history for the Boston Celtics.
In a 94-84 win over the Charlotte Bobcats, Pierce hit a three-pointer in the third quarter with 10:23 remaining, helping him pass Bird’s record of 21,791 points. He went 6-18 shooting, adding nine assists and eight rebounds during the course of the game.
“It was a relief. So much was hanging over me the last couple days. Just hearing about it and knowing you have a game to play. Just to be mentioned with [Larry Bird], with this organization is a great honor.” Pierce told CBS News after accomplishing the feat.
The amount of respect that Paul Pierce received felt like it would never end as the crowd rose to its feet to congratulate him. Jermaine O’Neal actually had to foul (which ended up being a technical foul) in order to stop the game.
The crowd continued to applaud at the insistence of Pierce while Bobcat Reggie Willis shot his free throws. Long time Celtics fans have seen Pierce grow into the player he is today, now 28th on the all-time scoring list for the NBA.
Two other Celtics, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are also on the all-time list, standing at 19th and 24th respectively.
Bird himself has said he admires how Pierce achieved the career milestone, telling the Boston Herald “Paul has been able to do it in a variety of ways. What the guy can give you in the offensive end is remarkable.”
Both Larry Bird, who played for the Celtics for thirteen years, and Paul Pierce have spent their entire careers here in Boston. Only John Havlicek remains in front of Pierce on the list with 26,395 points during his career.
As fantastic as it would be for Pierce to move into the number one position passing Havlicek, it doesn’t seem very realistic at this point unfortunately. Based on his career average of 1,200 to 1,500 points per season, the Kansas alum would need to play at least three more seasons with Boston to pass the eight-time NBA champion.
But what it seems the fans really want more than that is another championship with the Big Three still around. Congratulations to Paul Pierce.
Alex Hall of Journal Staff contributed to this article.
