Paul Pierce does his best Willis Reed

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Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant go at it

Image details: NBA Finals Game 1: Los Angeles Lakers v Boston Celtics served by picapp.com

All of us old ones remember Willis Reed limping back onto the floor for the New York Knicks. It was amazing.

Paul Pierce stepped back out onto the floor as if there was no injury at all and helped carry the Celtics to victory in game 1 of the NBA Finals. He even guarded Kobe Bryant and all with the diagnosis of a torn meniscus.

So, there was Paul Pierce with his Willis Reed moment. Once again, it had been done to the Lakers. Back in 1970, it was Jerry West. This time, it was Kobe Bryant. Out of the tunnel, out of the rubble, Pierce marched back into the Garden and you had never heard such a roar, such voice. Here was the NBA Finals that everyone wanted to see, that everyone feared could turn quickly toward the Lakers, and this was a New England scene scripted straight out of Hollywood.

Two minutes hadn’t elapsed on the third quarter clock when Pierce returned to the floor and checked back in and it wouldn’t be long until he delivered back-to-back three pointers on the break, turning a 71-69 deficit into a 75-71 lead and ultimately a 98-88 victory.

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But to really understand it, you have to know the Willis Reed story.

In the first four games of the Finals against the formidable Los Angeles Lakers, Reed had scored 37, 29, 38 and 23 points, respectively, while averaging 15 rebounds. In the fourth quarter of Game 5 he sustained a deep thigh injury. The Knicks managed to survive that encounter but were demolished by the Lakers in Game 6.

The series was tied at three games apiece entering the decisive contest at Madison Square Garden. New York’s Bill Bradley recalled Game 7 in an article in The New York Times: “We left the locker room for the warm-ups not knowing if Willis was going to come out or not.”

At 7:34 p.m. Reed limped onto the court. The crowd went wild, and his teammates’ confidence returned with a vengeance. Reed somehow managed to outjump Wilt Chamberlain. on the opening tip, then scored the game’s first basket on a shot from the top of the key. He then scored the second New York basket from 20 feet out.

He did not score again, but he didn’t have to; he had already inspired the Knicks to seize the day. New York led by as many as 29 points in the first half and eventually won the contest, 113-99.

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Hey, just giving you some important NBA history!

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