Today in Celtics history: the Wheelchair Game
This was, of course, Game One of the 2008 finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, which saw Boston get into it as they usually do when playing their arch rivals on the biggest of stages - namely, chippy. In the heat of it all, Pierce - just starting to heat up on offense - collided with Kendrick Perkins on the other end of the court as he tried to stop Kobe Bryant from scoring. Pierce went down hard, and came up writhing in pain, clutching his knee.
"Remembering Paul Pierce's Famous Wheelchair Game" https://t.co/0L8lgCuOug— OutOfSightSports (@OOSSports) May 3, 2017
The arena was deathly silent while they assessed the injury and hauled the Truth away in a wheelchair, with many - myself included - thinking the year's legendary run had just come to a grinding halt. Somehow - perhaps via method acting, a change of drawers or psy-ops, if some are to be believed - a few moments later, a slightly hobbled but upright and ambulatory Pierce re-appeared, ready to play. Needless to say, the crowd response was euphoric, and buoyed Boston to a 98-88 win.
Part of me really wants the W to be the result of some creative ass-covering of the most literal kind.
For more stories about Celtics history on CelticsLife, click here. For more by Justin, click here.
