Paul Pierce's 10 Most Memorable Moments

#10: Game Winning Shot vs. Bulls (Game 5, 2009 First Round)

As Pierce has aged, he has seen some of his skills diminish. However, hitting big shots was not one of them. With Game 5 of the 2009 playoff series against the Chicago Bulls on the line at 104-104 with five seconds left in overtime, the Celtics ran the famous "Paul Pierce isolation" play and he worked his magic once again. It was mano y mano with the Bulls John Salmons. As usual, Pierce prevailed. He buried the shot with 3.4 seconds left and sent the Celtics home with a huge win that helped to elevate them to the second round.

You can watch it on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyYMeBD8GR

#9: Pierce leads Celtics to first victory vs. San Antonio in 17 years in 2007

The Celtics history doesn't begin in July 2007 when they acquired Kevin Garnett. In this matchup on St. Patrick's Day in 2007, Pierce scored 30 points and hit two shots with under a minute to go, including a dagger with 16.5 left to secure the victory. The win snapped an 18-game losing streak to San Antonio for the Celtics and was yet another big time Paul Pierce performance.


#8: Pierce scores 46 to bury 76ers in 2002

Going into the 2002 NBA playoffs, the Boston Celtics had not won a round since 1992. Paul Pierce stepped his game up to give the fans in "The Jungle," as he called it a show. He scored 46 points and hit 8 of 10 shots from 3-point land. The Celtics won the game 120-87 and they would eventually go on to be Eastern Conference Finals participants that year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ64tfHcIek

#7: Pierce sets C's playoff record for points in a half to lead Celtics over Pacers

In game 4 of the first round in 2003, the Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 102-92. Without Paul Pierce however, this would not have been possible. Pierce scored 32 points in the second half, including 21 in the 3rd quarter to cap a rally from a 16-point halftime deficit. With 32 points in the half, Pierce set a Celtics franchise record for most points in one half in the playoffs. The Celtics went up 3-1 in the series and would later win it in six games. The best moment of the game was when Pierce hit a 3-pointer right in Al Harrington's face at the end of the third quarter. The two were talking smack and Pierce said something, then lifted up and just drained the three.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M546oa0NGys

#6: Pierce's game winning shot vs. Washington in 2006

Before the shot itself, Arenas hit a shot in overtime that appeared to send the Celtics home for good. He gave the middle finger to the Celtics bench and after this, you could see a fire light in Paul Pierce's eyes. He was not going to let this chump ruin his night and ruin his team's night. Pierce buried the shot and he gave a nasty look to the Wizards as the team mobbed him at center court.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoKoZ1MBzEI


#5: Pierce scores 50 points in epic 2006 duel with LeBron James

It wouldn't be the last time these two dueled in such a fashion, but this was one of the great regular season duels in NBA history. LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a double ovetime victory, but Pierce's individual performance cannot be overlooked. He set a career high with 50 points and also set the record for the most points scored in the TD (Banknorth) Garden.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cU3INIBSz4

#4: Pierce's triumphant return in Game 1 of 2008 NBA Finals

In Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals, Paul Pierce was injured on an awkward play with Kobe Bryant early in the third quarter. He would return just minutes after being carted to the locker room and hit two big threes back-to-back. Pierce finished with 15 points in the quarter en route to a 108-98 victory over the rival Los Angeles Lakers. This was the first NBA Finals game played in Boston since 1986. The fans were dead silent as Pierce was being attended to by the trainers and carried off the court. The arena erupted when he jogged out of the tunnel though. It has to be one of the best goosebump moments in Celtics history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtXD-aMnMuc

#3: Pierce and LeBron duel again in Game 7 in 2008; Pierce wins

This performance by both Paul Pierce and LeBron James drew comparisons to the epic shootout in the 80's between Dominique Wilkens and Larry Bird. It was Game 7 and the winner of the game would go to the Eastern Conference Finals. LeBron James scored 45 points, Pierce had 41. LeBron edged out Paul in the points category yet again; however , this time Pierce would come up victorious. You knew that this was his game when the Celtics won a crucial jump ball with under a minute left and Pierce shouted out so everybody could hear him in celebration. He would hit a lucky free throw with the ball bouncing off the back of the rim and rolling in, bringing out a smile for the first time in the game from this fierce competitor. All Celtics fans could do was smile for the rest of the night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c4l8LW_ebw

#2: Pierce leads C's to greatest 4th quarter comeback in NBA playoff history

Paul Pierce was the leader of quite possibly the greatest 4th quarter comeback in NBA playoff history. Sure, the Celtics had a larger overall comeback in the 2008 NBA Finals against the Lakers, but this one was special in itself. The Celtics were down 21 points heading into the 4th quarter. Antoine Walker yelled at Pierce on the bench and told him to stop complaining to the officials and to just play his game. The crowd was quiet and Pierce did what Walker told him, just played his game. He would score 19 points in the quarter and the Celtics would beat the Nets by 4 in front of one of the loudest crowds anybody has ever heard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MI3sj3XKrQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c9pklLtkeE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSfIAb8G0_I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRkqWMX-Y7E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2D19TpKQJ4

#1: Wins NBA Championship and Finals MVP

This has to be Paul's greatest career accomplishment to date by far. It may not have been his greatest game statistically, but it is the moment he will tell you is his favorite. He preached all throughout the 2008 NBA Finals "us", "we", "Ubuntu" and he continued to preach it even after winning the championship. He said "This is our championship and our 17th banner we will raise." Winning the NBA championship is the greatest team accomplishment in the NBA. It means that you were better then every other team in the league. In 2008, the Celtics did just that. This was a shining moment for a player that deserved to shine way more then he ever has. This victory helped Paul finally get the national recognition from the casual NBA fan that he never got and helped his NBA hall of fame argument considerably.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAyA8BV-cTI