“I’m starting to get my legs, starting to get my basketball shape,’’ Pierce said. “I can just feel it every game. Just getting closer, just getting sharper out there, getting my timing, things like that, understanding where to be, where to cut, stuff like that. I feel it coming.’’
But Pierce also accepted some of the blame for the defeat.
“At the end of the day, none of us in here likes to lose,’’ he said. “That’s the frustrating part. From every win you can take some positives, and from losses you can take some positives.
“I think I like where we’re headed. You know, it’s just little things that are really killing us. Turnovers, obviously, are killing us. We have to keep teams out of transition, control that a little better - I think we’ll be great. But you have to go out there and do it.’’
Pierce played a major part in a fourth-quarter sequence that nearly turned the momentum in the Celtics’ favor. First, Pierce caused Durant to miss a jumper, then he hit a second-chance 3-pointer to cut the Celtics’ deficit to 78-76 with 5:22 remaining. The Celtics got a defensive stop, but then Rajon Rondo lost possession and the Thunder took an 81-76 lead on Durant’s 3-pointer with 4:42 left.
“We talked about that,’’ Pierce said of turnovers. “It seems like we go through a stretch each and every game where we have a two-minute turnover stretch. I think I’m a big reason for that. I’m overaggressive at times - that’s when we just have to take a deep breath and, when we make a good run, just make sure we take good shots.’’
Coach Doc Rivers said Pierce “went on a stretch where he tried to do too much with the ball - and those were turnovers. But I thought he fought Durant. I thought he looked so much better, offensively.’’
The Celtics’ habit of struggling in the first quarter continued, but the team showed signs of resiliency.
