Pierce primed for matchup
LOS ANGELES -- Call it a groove, a zone, an out-of-body experience. Few players know what it feels like to score 30-plus points per game with ease and regularity. Few know what it feels like to have layups from impossible angles fall almost every time, or what it feels like to hit clutch jumpers again and again.
Few players know what it feels like to be an offensive juggernaut of one. Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant belong to the elite club of top NBA scorers. They know.
This afternoon at the
''This time of the year, you know when to turn it up," said Pierce, who is averaging 26.6 points per game this season and 29.0 on the current trip. ''It's the second half of the season. We're making a playoff push. I just want to pick up my play, get better as the season goes along.
''I'm in a good groove right now. I feel good out there. I've got my legs. My wind is good. The guys are doing a great job of finding me in the right spots. That's just about it."
He makes scoring 30 sound effortless. But a look at team history reveals quite the opposite.
Before Pierce scored a measly 20 points against Phoenix last Wednesday, he had scored 30 or more in six straight games. That marked the longest streak since Larry Bird scored 30-plus in six straight in March 1988. Only one longer streak exists in team history: nine straight by Bird in February/March of 1985.
Judging by the career-high 50 points Pierce scored against LeBron James and the Cavaliers Feb. 15, playing against the best seems to bring out his best. Pierce hopes for something of an encore this afternoon when he will be measured against Bryant and his 35 points per game.
''I think it's great for the NBA, especially since I've been pretty much in a groove for this whole month and he's the NBA's leading scorer," said Pierce. ''It's a great matchup. He's one of the best wing players in the game. I'm one of the best wing players in the game. A lot of people are going to be focused on that. We're both competitive players. We both want our teams to win. It's a great matchup when you go against a guy like that."
But Pierce knows he must keep the focus on the game, not individual bragging rights.
''It's tough," said Pierce. ''You really want to go out there and show him up, but I think the way you show him up is getting the win. Regardless of what the stats say, as long as you get that win, that's all that matters. That's what I try to focus on."
Everybody knows where Bryant's 81-point performance against Toronto Jan. 22 ranks in NBA history. While some of the most successful players competing today might prefer to keep their admiration of colleagues private, Pierce readily acknowledges that he closely follows the careers of Bryant and others.
''Around the league, a lot of the guys watch each other, especially the top scorers and the top players in the game," said Pierce. ''You recognize each other's great talents. You talk about it All-Star break. Of course, everybody was talking about Kobe's 81. It's fun.
''I keep up with all these guys, especially guys at my position, the guys who I'm looking to pass as far as being the best playing at my position. I follow them very carefully.
''I watch all the guys. If there's one move or one little fake, or something I can take from them, and it can work for me, I'll use it. I think there's a mutual respect. I don't think we have to say anything."
When it comes to Bryant, Pierce admires his desire to win more than anything else.
''I love playing with players that have that determination, no matter what other people say," said Pierce. ''He continues to fight. All he wants to do is win."
