Paul Pierce overcame a knee injury to help Boston Celtics win game one of the NBA Finals against the LA Lakers.
Pierce battles injury to help Boston go 1-0 up in NBA Finals.
Paul Pierce returned from a knee injury during the game to help lift Boston Celtics to a 98-88 victory over the LA Lakers in the opening game of the NBA Finals.
Pierce had to be carried off the court in the third quarter with a sprained knee after colliding with a team-mate, but he stormed back out of the locker room soon after to help seal the victory for the Celtics.
Pierce scored 22 points while Kevin Garnett added 24 and 13 rebounds while MVP Kobe Bryant was kept relatively quiet by the Celtics defence to help the home side into a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
30-year-old Pierce is in his first NBA Finals after a frustrating ten-year career, and he was determined not to let injury end hi big moment prematurely.
"I was like, 'Man, it can't be over like this,'" Pierce said. "I think God just sent this angel down and said, 'Hey, you're going to be all right. You need to get back out there and show them what you've got.'"
Return
Pierce was greeted to a huge roar from the Boston crowd when he triumphantly returned from the locker room wearing a knee brace, after leavening in a wheelchair with his game seemingly over.
"We've seen him play through numerous injuries throughout the season. When he wasn't really responding it was like 'Uh oh, what's going on?'" said team-mate Garnett.
"When he came out, you just heard the roar of the crowd.
"He rejuvenated us I think to the point where he gave everybody life."
Pierce's return in the third quarter visibly lifted the Celtics, as did his back-to-back three-pointers with 30 seconds of each other to put Boston 75-71 ahead.
"What helped them out were those two threes that he hit, not coming back on the floor," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, seeking a record 10th NBA title.
"Hitting the threes were what was important."
Drama
Such a dramatic start to a rivalry steeped in history can only mean more thrills to come in the finals, and Boston coach Doc Rivers was delighted with the start.
Despite the injury problem for Pierce, Rivers praised the way his side handled the situation.
"Him coming back lifted us up, but I thought the stretch where he was out and we didn't show any panic, was really good for our team," Rivers said.
"A guy grabs his knee, there are no good thoughts. That was the biggest part of the game.
"We could have easily felt sorry for ourselves. When he came back out he was big for us."
