Captain goes down before ship <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>ATLANTA - The bookends for Paul Pierce night don’t match. One is sublime; the other unfathomable. The Celtics captain went for 11 points in the first quarter, calmly but purposefully drilling jumpers and getting inside for a rebound hoop and generally acting as if he’d bust the Atlanta Hawks by himself last night in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series, if need be. Pierce told the media before the game that he wouldn’t be addressing them until after the series. And with the way things were going early on, space was being made in the papers to chronicle his utterances. Surely the Celtics would close out the pesky Hawks and Pierce would be the embodiment of taking care of business. But from there the path meandered. The second bookend was put in place with 4:44 left and the Celts, once ahead by 12, down by four. Josh Childress drove and appeared to be fouled by Kevin Garnett on his way to scoring, but Pierce was called for a grab on Zaza Pachulia away from the play. A palms-up Pierce tried to get an explanation. It was bad enough to him that the call was made - but it was his sixth and final foul. Ugly stuff for a team in need of scoring. When he realized the call would stand, Pierce walked along the baseline toward the Celtics bench and threw down his headband. Bang. Referee Bob Delaney hit him with a technical. Joe Johnson hit the tech, Pachulia missed the free throw resulting from the original foul call and the Hawks had three more points for their 10-0 run. After absorbing the 103-100 loss that set up a Game 7 tomorrow at the Garden, the Celtics were still wondering. “I actually didn’t (see the foul),” coach Doc Rivers said. “I couldn’t see the play. It’s a hell of a play, you know, Paul fouling out. Our best scorer out of the game in the fourth quarter. (He was) basically in foul trouble the second half. It clearly hurt us.” During breaks thereafter, Pierce continued to quiz Delaney about the play. Rivers knew where he stood on the tech. “I was disturbed by it because we should never get a fourth-quarter technical,” Rivers said. “That’s been our rule all year. No fourth-quarter technicals. I can take the first three. The fourth quarter, you can’t make up for a tech. There’s just not enough time to make up the points for it. “Paul threw his headband and Bob (Delaney) explained to me that even though he just threw it down, he said it’s an automatic. It’s a league rule. I said, ‘Bob, six minutes left in the game, a guy throws his headband down by his feet and we’re giving technicals?’ And he said, ‘I had to.’ “And, you know, it’s a league rule. We know that. They briefed us before the season. Can’t throw wristbands. You can’t throw headbands.” Looking at how the tech and the point may have affected things, Rivers said, ‘Yeah, I mean, that last play, now we can go for a two(-point shot instead of Rajon Rondo [stats]’s long 3-point attempt that was well short). That’s what I mean by you can’t make up for technicals.” The C’s were down three after Mike Bibby made 1-of-2 free throws with 7.4 seconds left. The night ended on Rondo’s wayward trey. Rivers said he had no flashbacks to Pierce and his Game 6 technical against the Indiana Pacers in the 2005 playoffs, a game the Celtics [team stats] won in overtime before dropping Game 7. Nor did the coach think back to the gesture Pierce made toward the Hawks bench in Game 3 that earned him a $25,000 league fine. “You know, in Paul’s defense on this one - because I know what’s going on - he was miffed that the foul was on him,” he said. “He was trying to figure out how he got the foul and not Kevin. So he was emotional. It was a foul, but I didn’t even see Paul in the picture.” Pierce followed through on his promise not to chat after the game. It is quite likely he will rise and pull the Celtics through this tomorrow. For now, however, the record states that he had six points and five fouls after his first quarter. There is no blame to be assigned, only facts to be reported.</div>
I know he's been with the team since forever, but does anyone really think of Pierce as the team's leader anymore. I've considered KG to be that man. It seems like he established himself as the leader ever since he came in.
We clean house after this season! Seriously, I was pissed that they called that a foul on Pierce. Not so much a foul, but a foul in the playoffs, game six and the sixth foul. That's what pissed me off.
