The Celtics turned in a ragged performance in beating the Charlotte Bobcats, 94-84, at TD Garden. Yet the result paled in comparison to the accomplishment. Pierce has transformed himself from a face of a declining and underachieving franchise to one of the game’s best small forwards, and Boston won a title in 2007-08. While his No. 34 would have risen to the rafters here even if he did not pass Bird, it was a symbolic achievement.
Bird was the leader, the driving force behind the Celtics who beat Pierce’s hometown Lakers in 1984 as he grew up in Inglewood, Calif., just minutes from the Forum. Pierce went from Inglewood High to an All-American at the University of Kansas to a first-round pick of the Celtics in 1998.
His journey in Boston has been filled with obstacles but his desire to remain with the Celtics never waned. And his face filled with humility as he attempted to address last night’s milestone.
“It was a relief, so much was hanging over me the last couple of days just hearing about it,’’ said Pierce, who finished with 15 points (he now has 21,797 total) and added 9 assists and 8 rebounds. “So many people just talked about it. Definitely it’s a great feat knowing you are going to be up there with all the great Celtics. Larry Bird is probably one of the most important players to ever play in this franchise. To have your name up there with him is a great honor.’’
Pierce entered needing 10 points to pass Bird and it was apparent from the start he was pressing, trying to drain 25-foot 3-pointers at every opportunity. Finally, on his second shot of the second half and 10th of the game, he canned a 3-pointer from the right side of the arc for 21,792.
Play did not stop, so Jermaine O’Neal committed a foul eight seconds later to allow the crowd to acknowledge Pierce. He raised his hand several times and then began waving his hands up and down to encourage a louder response.
