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NBA FINALS: CELTIC v LAKERS

June 3, 2010

Paul Pierce

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game One

Boston Celtics 89
Los Angeles Lakers 102

Q. Doc was just out here and said that LA came out a lot more aggressive than you guys. Why do you think that was?
PAUL PIERCE: That was the game plan. I mean, they did an excellent job with all the hustle plays. That's a game that we usually thrive in was the loose balls and 50/50 plays. They got us on offensive rebounds. But we knew that. The thing is you can't ease into the game, especially in The Finals. It's one of the better rebounding teams in the NBA, especially with their size and athleticism down low, we've just got to do a better job rebounding the ball and eliminating the opportunities. I felt like all night we pretty much let them run what they wanted to run, there was no resistance. I looked up and we gave up 100 points, I haven't seen that in a while. We've got our work cut out for us. They definitely pushed us tonight and had us on our heels.

Q. You mentioned you haven't seen that that often. How much pride do you guys take in yourselves being a defensive team and how important is it to you to change that in Game 2?
PAUL PIERCE: We take a lot of pride. You saw it in guys' faces, you heard it, from reactions after the game, just how guys felt. It wasn't a typical loss locker room. There was some angry people in there and they showed us. But that's just the pride. The guys in there got pride and don't want to lose the way we did. We can deal with losing because it's part of the game, you lose games, you win games. But you can't deal with it when you lose the way we did. We're down 20, they beat us to the hustle plays. That don't sit well with me at all.

Q. It seemed that all of you talked about all the hustle categories in which they outdid you, including 16-0 in second-chance points. You guys didn't get anything off the glass. What goes into that? Is that effort?
PAUL PIERCE: That's all it is. It's effort, there's no skill. There's no designed play to get rebounds. It's just about the mentality you've got to have when that ball goes up, when the ball is loose, to go out there and get it, simple as that.

Q. Can you talk about playing against Ron Artest, who wasn't here two years ago and the challenge it presented.
PAUL PIERCE: Ron is a great defender. I have a lot of respect for him. You've got to expect him to be physical. He's going to work hard. He's their defensive leader. I don't know what you want me to say. He's a good defender.

Q. How about also Andrew Bynum wasn't there a few years back. Did the Laker team seem different to you than two years ago?
PAUL PIERCE: Obviously they added some pieces. Obviously they were bringing Bynum back, Ron Artest. A more seasoned team from a couple years ago with some added pieces.

Q. What do you guys do to go forward from this place after this game, this big loss?
PAUL PIERCE: Well, we watch the film and we learn from it. That's all you can do. We go tomorrow and practice, watch the tape, see what we can do a lot better. Obviously there's going to be a lot of things we can do a lot better when you give up 100 points, give up 48 percent shooting. Got to do a better job of stopping the guards from penetrating obviously, got to do a better job rebounding the ball and we've got to do a better job with Kobe Bryant. Everybody knows he's going to shoot the ball, everybody knows he's going to be aggressive. So we've got to do a better job of getting the ball out of his hands.

Q. There was a lot of talk before the series about the Lakers being soft. Tonight Doc said they came out and were a lot more physical than you guys. Can you talk about that.
PAUL PIERCE: Well, they were. Look at the rebound numbers. We look at the blocks, you look at the hustle, it's stuff that don't even show up in the box scores that you saw in the game if you guys watched, all the hustle plays. That's all part of physicality. We've got to do a better job of pushing the guys back on the rebounds, outhustling them for loose balls and things of that nature, and that's where they beat us tonight.

Q. You mentioned about doing a better job on Kobe Bryant. What do you need to do to stop Kobe or even slow him down?
PAUL PIERCE: Just limit his touches, can't let him get to the spots he wants to get to. I thought he was way too comfortable on the floor to shoot, posted, got the ball from midrange, got to the basket. When you're playing a great player who can do so many things, you've got to take something away. I didn't think we took anything away from him. Whether it's denying him, trapping him, hard fouling him, we've got to do something to get the ball out of his hands and limit his easy looks.

Q. Were you surprised that the Lakers did reach into the abyss coming up with the hustle plays, coming up with the physicality?
PAUL PIERCE: I'm not surprised at anything the Lakers do at this point. I mean, it's the NBA Finals. You've got to expect their best. You have to expect their best. You've got to expect them to be more physical, you've got to expect them to be a better team than they were the last series. This is The Finals. There's no more room for mistakes, and we've got to come to expect that. Tonight we didn't, and I don't know the reason why. But hopefully we'll bring it in Game 2 and have a better understanding of what we need to do.

Q. What gives you optimism about being able to be more competitive in Game 2 and the rest of the series?
PAUL PIERCE: Because I know my team. I've been with them the last three years and I know how we bounce back. I know we're going to bounce back Game 2 with a lot better effort, just being around these guys and understanding them and knowing them, I just know that we'll put together a better game next game.

Q. The first two games in the regular season were very close games, and this game was a blowout. What was it about that game that seemed different to you, if anything seemed different?
PAUL PIERCE: Well, this is the NBA Finals. It's a bigger stage. There's more at stake, simple and plain. That's pretty much what it is. A regular season has no indication of what happens in the NBA Finals. Both teams are better from the regular season. They're seasoned, they went through 82 games, they went through however many playoff games. So both teams are better at this point than during the regular season. You know, that's about it, man. That's about it.

End of FastScripts

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