After his fourth consecutive shot in crunch time fell, putting the Nets up seven with 51.5 seconds left, Nets forward Paul Pierce walked back towards the bench, pounding his chest.
“That’s why they got me here!” Pierce said to his teammates. “That’s why I’m here!”
In his 137th career playoff game, more than any other player in this Nets-Raptors series, Pierce didn’t score once between the beginning of the second quarter and three minutes left in the game, shooting 2-9 from the field at that point.
But a quick three-pointer, a left-handed layup after a few extra steps, and two big jumpers brought the Nets from up three to up seven, sealing the first game of the Nets-Raptors series for Brooklyn with a 94-87 victory.
“He’s been doing it for years,” Dwane Casey said after the game about Pierce. “He’s a Hall of Famer for a reason.”
Pierce finished with 15 points, shooting 6 of 13 from the field in the Nets victory.
