Paul Pierce Quotes (74 Quotes)

This is the first time that I can remember that I've missed eight free throws in a game in my career.

He brought great energy to the whole arena when he came in. That's basketball and the crowd wants to get behind you -- especially if you play well. They probably would have booed if he didn't.

I look beyond that at this point in my career. Maybe earlier in my career I would have thought about it more, but at this point it's more about wins and losses.

We just didn't execute down the stretch. We didn't make the plays and they did.

Everybody knows it's for the region championship but at the same time, you've got to go play the same game you've been playing all year. We're excited about the opportunity and we look forward to the challenge.

We played well. They got off to a slow start and we got the lead. When a team is struggling you almost feel bad for them at that point. Our guys just kept playing, They played hard. We're so young, I was worried about us losing our focus. I can't worry about them.

We just didn't have our heads there. We know we should have closed the game out. We used it as motivation.

It takes a while to learn about everyone's tendencies. You have to learn where guys like to get the ball. Today was good for that. It will be even better next week when we have three days off.

We overcame 27 turnovers despite everything that was going on and we found a way. That's the key about it. This team is showing a lot of heart with the injuries we've got.

The main thing is we kept our head up and we didn't get down. We said, 'It's gonna end (the losing streak) but we've just got to stay together regardless of the injuries.' We just had to go out there and play and see what happens.

The last time I had a run like this was probably my senior year in high school. We've lost so many close games this year that we just needed to give ourselves a chance.

Whenever you get two all-stars on the court at the same time, you always have that sense of pride. We both have the utmost respect for one another and I think our competitive juices come out. What can I say It was just a great night for both of us.

I just knew I wanted the ball to take the last shot regardless, whether they double-teamed or triple-teamed. I got a good look once I jumped up and rose above the crowd, and I knocked down the shot.

Two heartbreaking games (in a row).

We were very fortunate. Obviously, there are a lot of things we have to work on. I thought we played good defense.

I think the most important thing I work on is just my mental approach to every day, my mental approach to the game. How to come in each and every day focused, doing what I want to do, I think that's just the biggest issue.

When you got it going, you got it going. I just keep my focus down the stretch. That's when I want the ball. I'm just not afraid to fail.

Well, he didn't give me a yes or a no. I just told him that it would be an honor, and that I'm interested.

It's a great individual accomplishment, but I'm not here for the individual accomplishments. ... I don't go into every game trying to score 30 points. I'm just trying to win.

I think Marcus is like a lot of guys in the league. He needs the minutes to get comfortable with the system and the coach, and Marcus never really got that with us. He never was really comfortable in Doc (Rivers') system the whole time, but I think he has the ability to be a good player in this league. He's a lock-down defender and he has a nice touch from the outside. I put him in the same mode as a (Warriors guard) Derek Fisher.

One cool thing about mathematics is they (the audience) don't have to be able to understand math to see the passion that makes it so exciting to them.

This was a good win despite the circumstances. We showed a lot of heart. This was a really gutsy win for us and it says a lot about the team's character.

We feel like we're real close, it's just the little things. Our problem is a sense of urgency in the last three or four minutes of the game. We've got to get loose balls, get defensive rebounds, get quality shots and that's what we've got to learn to do as a team.

It just seems like they're all individuals. It doesn't seem like the team concept from everybody. It's pretty shocking to me. I thought they'd probably be one of the top two teams in the Atlantic Division this year.

I didn't come to play today. I really struggled on the defensive end. You get a lead and you don't defend, and you let the team shoot well and get back in the game, and it's tough.

He plays tough defense. He gets the toughest assignments night in and night out.

Even with all of the players that they have lost, they still have a great team. Kenny Thomas stepped it up and knocked down the key shots. We knew that they have capable players, and by no means did we take them for granted.

I'm just going out playing the way I know how to play. We're just having fun, staying positive. We feel like we can win each game. We turned it around ever since we gained a lot of confidence out west and I think it's starting to carry over.

I just don't think we showed a sense of urgency we need down the stretch. That's what good teams do.

That was the difference in the game. They gave the starters a cushion at the start of the fourth quarter. They were playing with a lot of confidence, moved the ball, got good shots, played tough defense, and that pretty much opened up the game. So the starters got back in and put it away.

I just take what comes to me. If the drive is there, I'm going to take it. If it's not there, I'll take a pull-up shot. I'm a confident player down the stretch and I feel like I can make the play when I have to.

Its one of the greatest individual performances I've ever seen.

We made the necessary plays we needed down the stretch and got the big stops. We're starting to win these close games now.

A lot of the times, the ball came into my hands and everybody was watching. Memphis did a great job. When I would put the ball on the ground and come off the pick-and-roll, they would corral, trap with two or three guys and made me make the extra pass.

At the beginning of the season, I set my goal to see if I can lead the league in scoring, because I feel I have that kind of ability. A lot of guys say it, but it's not really in their grasp. I feel that's really in my grasp.

The rim is looking bigger and bigger every game.

For the most part, we did get good shots. I thought we moved the ball well. The ball just didn't bounce my way today.

He's just got to remain positive. These type of situations you get in when you're in the limelight and when people know who you are and you're a target, just like I was a target in my stabbing incident a few years back. I believe he's going to come out on the good side of it. I have him in my thoughts. I told him in a phone message that everything is going to be all right. That's all I can do right now. We're his family, so we've just got to lend our support. Once he gets back with us, he'll be all right.

Once people start making comparisons to a player of the past, they want you to be that player. I try to go out there and create my own image, my own style, my own type of game. Right now I can't even think of one guy I've been compared to.

I probably visualize myself, the shots I'm going to get in the game, how I'm going to play defense, what we have to do to stop the other team's best player, what it's going to take out of me, the whole aspect of the game.

When you're down by 19, it just puts too much pressure on your defense. We needed to make consecutive shots and just couldn't sustain it.

I'm just trying to be positive. I like the guys (I'm) around. Even though we're not at the record I'd like to be, even after a loss, guys are mad, but then we have fun and you move on. They look up to me. I've been around eight years. A lot of these guys were in junior high or high school when I came into the NBA. I see how much of an influence I am off the court. I try to be careful how I approach things on and off the court, because I know these guys are watching.

It's tough to swallow, especially when we thought we had them on the ropes. We just didn't match their intensity the second half.

This is one of the handful of musicals that our audience -- I know you'll be shocked and surprised to hear -- really loves.

The last story with Siegfried was the funniest. It's good that these guys are still able to do that come in and talk to us for the young players to see what the tradition is all about. They hear about it, but until you really come here and experience it yourself, you really don't understand.

We just wanted to play everyone tight. That's what prime-time players do in this league. Obviously, Rip is a prime-time player.

He's taking a team that didn't make the playoffs a year ago and definitely has made a huge impact on them. Obviously, when he's on the court with them they're pretty much unbeatable. When he's not on the court they're not the same.

There's a lot of pressure every time we lose a game. We don't have a lot of room for error right now. I think we've got to get to 41 wins, and every loss is a lot of pressure on us. We've got to win 14 more games, I believe, for us to make the playoffs.

If we play like this for the rest of the year, we're going to win a lot of games.

You've got to pick your poison with them. We're doubling Shaq and paying so much attention to Wade, we leave Antoine open. He was able to step up and knock down some shots.