Thursday, May 31st, 2012 at 9:30 am  |  109 responses

Paul Pierce: Celtics’ Game 2 Loss ‘Demoralizing’


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

The Boston Celtics threw their best punch at the Miami Heat last night, and in the end, it simply wasn’t enough.

The Heat survived a legendary performance from Rajon Rondo (44 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds), solid contributions from Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, and yes, benefitted from the referees’ whistles (Miami took 47 free throws, to Boston’s 29.)

Everyone on the Boston side of the argument was enraged, but Paul Pierce put it best when he called the overtime loss in Game 2 “demoralizing.”

From Yahoo! Sports:

The general manager of the Boston Celtics was trying to understand how LeBron James could get to the free-throw line those 24 times, and so Danny Ainge stood in the hallway recreating a clear-path foul call to the NBA’s vice president of referee operations, Joe Borgia. Ainge slid his feet, and tried to show how the Celtics defender had reached around to the Miami Heat star, how they were far too close to the rim for that call. “How?” Ainge asked him.

Ainge was persistent, polite and Borgia finally relented that he’d watch the film of the Heat’s 115-111 Game 2 overtime victory. “I’m sure we missed five or six calls somewhere,” Borgia said.

The Celtics were livid with the officials, yes, but mostly they were so, so angry with themselves. All those second and third chances they gave the Heat, when they needed a defensive rebound, a loose ball. “Demoralizing,” Paul Pierce said.

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers did the only thing he could following the crushing defeat — he told his team to suck it up, move on, and try to salvage this series in Games 3 and 4 back home in Beantown.

That sounds a whole lot easier said than done.

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  • Ldub

    MUBWAR….he was their designated “perimeter” defender when he was on the Cavs with LBJ. It was his job to guard the best player on the opposing team. He didnt do any of that in Toronto because he was more offensive minded. Hes kinda like a Battier. D and 3.

    @SEED….Youre picking a possession here and a possession there to say the entire game was in the Heat favor. Again (and ive said this before)….The C’s were up….with the same calls in the first and second half. Difference was Cs stopped being aggressive. And IDK why people expect this perfectly ref’d game. Youre gonna miss calls and youre gonna have some bogus ones called. We all know Wade fouled Rondo but to say players like Wade and LBJ “get away with calls like that” is crazy. Rondo went from one side of the basket, double pumped and Wade missed the ball, hit him in the face. We all saw it but to think he did it because he is Wade and CAN GET AWAY WITH IT DUE TO HIM WEARING A HEAT jersey is just sick. I would love to see you go ref an NBA game and see how many calls you miss/make in error due to the fast pace of the game!

  • Dejjy

    It’s only fair. I mean everytime I watch a Celtics game, they get their call every single time. But these are just two games compared to how many games the Celtics won with the refs on their side.

  • http://idunkonthem.blogspot.com albie1kenobi

    people b!tching about referees are so refreshing. it’s just like kids yelling “he did it first!” “no he did it first!”
    –
    on another note, that touching picture thumbnail for this thread was not from yesterday’s game; Rondo and Pierce were wearing black headbands.

  • Y u spell it fiyah

    It might have been demoralizing to the team, but I wish I could tell Rondo how inspiring that was for me.

  • AQWORD

    GAme 3 tonite. Looking forward to see how the Heat handle the Cs on their court. Suddenly i’m hungry for some ricecakes. Bron is due a trey deuce anyday now. Go Video Game ! Man up beeehachiz!

  • http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2012/05/how-the-new-orleans-hornets-won-the-nba-draft-lottery/ thePhoenix

    @the Seed: Your reasoning is flawed. You give evidence of ONE bad call in favor of the Heat and that means the whole series is a joke? GTFOH…. Stiemsma plays defense with his hands, reaching and slapping at the ball, and doesn’t move his feet. 3/4 of the calls against him were easy calls and clear fouls. The 4th where he half hand checked Lebron was weak, but still 50/50 as he put both his hands on LeBrons hips as he drove towards the hoop, so it’s not a bad call at all.

  • http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2012/05/how-the-new-orleans-hornets-won-the-nba-draft-lottery/ thePhoenix

    A disparate foul count, in and of itself, is not indicative of ref bias. LeBron and Wade attack the rim more than anyone in the NBA, when you attack the rim often, you get fouled often because nobody is going to give up easy layups. The Celtics by contrast shoot a lot of jump shots. KG at the top of the key/elbow, even when he posts he’s doing that shake and fade shot, Pierce on 3s and mid range fade aways, Ray on 3s and off screens. Rondo is the only one who routinely takes the ball to the hoop and even then he looks to pass off it a lot. Their styles of play explain the foul count.

  • http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2012/05/how-the-new-orleans-hornets-won-the-nba-draft-lottery/ thePhoenix

    A disparate foul count, in and of itself, is not indicative of ref bias. LeBron and Wade attack the rim more than anyone in the NBA, when you attack the rim often, you get fouled often because nobody is going to give up easy layups. The Celtics by contrast shoot a lot of jump shots. KG at the top of the key/elbow, even when he posts he’s doing that shake and fade shot, Pierce on 3s and mid range fade aways, Ray on 3s and off screens. Rondo is the only one who routinely takes the ball to the hoop and even then he looks to pass off it a lot.

  • hegotsgame

    Simon Caine is my hero. Thank you bro!!!

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