BOSTON — Big moments have defined the Lakers-Celtics blood feud, and in their first get-together in 21 years, a kid from Los Angeles gave Boston one to remember.
Paul Pierce, who used to sneak into Lakers games as a youngster, came bounding out of the tunnel from the locker room after leaving with an injured knee and led the Celtics to a tense 98-88 victory over Los Angeles on Thursday night in Game 1 of these tradition-soaked Finals.
Pierce’s dramatic return after being carried from the court and wheeled down a hallway for treatment will be added to the annals of Celtics-Lakers lore, taking a spot alongside Magic Johnson’s baby sky hook and Kevin McHale’s clothesline of Kurt Rambis.
Kevin Garnett scored 24 points, Pierce finished with 22 — 11 after getting hurt — and Ray Allen, the third member of Boston’s Big Three, added 19 for the Celtics, who are chasing a 17th NBA championship.
Pierce went to the ground after colliding with teammate Kendrick Perkins under the basket with 6:49 left in the quarter, and Perkins’ leg seemed to knock Pierce’s out from under him. Pierce stayed on the court for several minutes as the game went into a timeout, with the fans yelling, “Let’s go, Paul!” before realizing things might be serious when he had to be carried from the arena by teammates Brian Scalabrine and Tony Allen.
But minutes after being taken to the locker room in a wheelchair, Pierce came bounding out of the tunnel and back onto the court, bringing the crowd to its feet. Wearing a sleeve on his right leg, he walked right past the bench to the scorer’s table to check in with 5:04 left in the third quarter.
“I was scared when I saw him down on the floor,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said between quarters on the TV broadcast. “But I told them, ‘We’ve just got to hold the fort until he gets back.’ ”
Pierce scored 15 points in the third quarter — eight before leaving the game and seven after returning.
About a minute after Pierce was injured, Perkins headed for the locker room favoring his left leg.
