Throwback Thursday: Pierce vs. LeBron, 2008 Playoffs
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=644&v=66FNMqAAmX4
In the spirit of the Celtics-Cavs series heading to Boston tonight, here’s a video of a classic match up between these two teams. It was 2008 and the Celtics were in the midst of their first championship run in over twenty years. In what was a hard-fought series, LeBron and the Cavs pushed the C’s to seven games, setting the stage for a duel for the ages between two of the greatest scorers in NBA history as Bron Bron battled The Truth for a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. LeBron finished the contest with a game-high 45 points while Pierce dropped in 41 of his own and propelled the Celtics to victory. It was the first of two times in a three year span that the Celtics bounced Cleveland from the playoffs, and their win in 2010 led to LeBron’s departure to Miami.
Unfortunately, the Celtics don’t have Paul Pierce anymore (or KG or Ray Allen), but they’ve played Cleveland tough in the first two games and should benefit tonight from the home court advantage that has helped them in years past. If they come up empty tonight, then they’ll likely get swept. My prediction is that they grab a win for the home crowd in game 3, and anything can happen from there.
John Bardsley