{"id":415725,"date":"2011-05-02T21:27:13","date_gmt":"2011-05-02T21:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/05\/02\/pierce-looks-to-keep-composure-in-game-2-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-05-02T21:27:13","modified_gmt":"2011-05-02T21:27:13","slug":"pierce-looks-to-keep-composure-in-game-2-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/02\/pierce-looks-to-keep-composure-in-game-2-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Pierce looks to keep composure in Game 2 (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

MIAMI (AP)\u2014Paul Pierce<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> is from Los Angeles, so he knows a thing or do about Hollywood.<\/p>\n

And he knows he\u2019ll have to act better if the Boston Celtics<\/a> are going to avoid getting into a quick two-game hole in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Miami Heat<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A day after getting ejected from Boston\u2019s Game 1 loss, Pierce acknowledged that his actions were \u201cselfish\u201d and that he needed to do a better job keeping his composure. Nonetheless, he still believes that he was more victim than aggressor during the two plays in which he got technical fouls that sent him to the locker room with 7 minutes left in Miami\u2019s 99-90 win.<\/p>\n

Game 2 is Tuesday, and Pierce isn\u2019t sure if the physicality both teams offered Sunday would carry over.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a movie or a script,\u201d Pierce said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to really say what\u2019s going to happen game in, game out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Heat don\u2019t necessarily agree with that.<\/p>\n

They think they know exactly what\u2019s coming on Tuesday\u2014a much better effort from the Celtics. Boston missed 20 of its first 26 shots in Game 1, never got Kevin Garnett<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> rolling offensively and had Rajon Rondo<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> limited by foul trouble. Even after all that misfortune, the Celtics had their chances to recover from what was once a 19-point hole in Game 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re physical teams, we\u2019re defensive-minded teams, play a similar style of basketball and it\u2019s the playoffs,\u201d Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. \u201cThat\u2019s all it is. We\u2019re not overblowing the physicality part of it. We\u2019re not trying to be somebody we\u2019re not. They\u2019re not trying to be anyone they\u2019re not. \u2026 We know what our tenets are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pierce spoke to reporters Monday for the first time since the ejection. He was not available Sunday night, after he clashed with James Jones<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> with 7:59 remaining following a hard foul, then exchanged words with Dwyane Wade<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> 59 seconds later after the Heat guard ran into his screen. Double-technicals were called after both plays, and Pierce\u2019s ejection was automatic on the second.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I was fouled excessively on both plays,\u201d Pierce said.<\/p>\n

So did Boston coach Doc Rivers, who is not wavering from the stance he offered in the minutes following Game 1, when he said the Heat were more \u201cchippy\u201d than \u201cphysical.\u201d<\/p>\n

But on Monday, while not backing off that assertion, Rivers said the Celtics had bigger issues than whistles that didn\u2019t go their way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t handle it very well,\u201d Rivers said. \u201cOverall, I thought they hit first the entire game. I\u2019m talking legally\u2014I\u2019m talking their picks, their cuts, their actions. I just thought they played the game with a better force than we played the game, and that\u2019s something that shouldn\u2019t happen. Both teams should play with the same force.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Wade and Jones did that hurt Boston most had nothing to do with the two plays that ended Pierce\u2019s night. They combined for 63 points on 19-for-28 shooting from the field and an 18-for-19 combined performance from the foul line. Those numbers made LeBron James\u2019<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> 22-point, six-rebound, five-assist statline seem quiet by comparison.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would approach this game just like I would approach this game whether I had 12 points (in Game 1) or 38,\u201d Wade said. \u201cFor me, every game is different with this team. Certain nights, my job is going to be different. They put a lot of attention toward LeBron so I got an opportunity to not have all eyes on me so I got into a rhythm. It might be different next game.\u201d<\/p>\n

So might the lineups.<\/p>\n

Rivers said Monday\u2019s practice might move Shaquille O\u2019Neal<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> closer to a return after missing nearly all of the last three months with leg problems. A decision on his Game 2 status likely won\u2019t be finalized until Tuesday morning\u2019s pregame shootaround. And Miami forward Udonis Haslem<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> worked out again Monday, a day after he nearly made the active roster for the first time since rupturing a foot ligament on Nov. 20.<\/p>\n

Both sides would see their depth bolstered if those big men returned, but the Celtics know an O\u2019Neal comeback alone won\u2019t be enough of a change if they plan on returning to Boston with a 1-1 split in Miami.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiami has two of the best athletes in the game in LeBron James and Dwyane Wade,\u201d Celtics center Jermaine O\u2019Neal<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said. \u201cWhen they get into the open court, they tend to be very, very tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

James knows a 1-0 lead against Boston is not enough. When he was with Cleveland a year ago, the Cavaliers had both 1-0 and 2-1 series leads over the Celtics in the East semis.<\/p>\n

Undeterred, Boston won in six games\u2014a decision that still stings James.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re naturally confident,\u201d James said. \u201cBut you never get too high or too low in a playoff series. It\u2019s one game. Series is not won in one game.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Originally posted here:
\nPierce looks to keep composure in Game 2 (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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