Pierce expresses his frustration

Celtics captain Paul Pierce elected not to speak to the media before last night's 117-97 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. His play (32 points, 5 for 8 on 3-pointers) spoke for itself.

But his comments on WEEI yesterday morning were a hot topic at TD Banknorth Garden prior to tipoff.

Pierce expressed frustration over the state of the team -- not a surprising development. Living up to his nickname, "The Truth," Pierce spoke candidly about being on a lottery-bound outfit at this point in his career.

"Definitely, I'm frustrated," Pierce said. "I never thought in my ninth year I'd be playing on a team with the worst record in the NBA at this point in the season. It's tough for us to even talk playoffs right now because of the situation we're in. So definitely the frustration is up."

Pierce reiterated his desire that if the Celtics end up with one of the top two picks, they trade it for veteran help.

"I'm in my ninth year. How much longer do I got to play?" said Pierce. "You get another project in here. We got, I think, plenty of those, a guy who is going to be ready in four or five years. I'm going to be ready for retirement by then."

Pierce said after the win that he hadn't felt added pressure to play well because of his comments. "Being that I'm the captain and being that I get paid what I get paid, it's important for me to play well every night," he said.

Coach Doc Rivers said he could understand Pierce's position as a veteran, but that nobody wants to be a part of such a monumental losing streak. Rivers said he wasn't worried about his best player asking out.

"Obviously, if we're at this point two years from now, everyone is going to be asking out and they probably should," said Rivers.

Wally Szczerbiak scored 14 points in his first game back after turning his right ankle in a 91-79 loss to Miami Feb. 7. Szczerbiak, who checked into the game with 1:55 remaining in the first quarter, played more than 26 minutes.

"I felt great out there and we played great as a team," he said. "It just felt great to get a win."

Szczerbiak said he could not explain the rash of ankle injuries that have befallen him this season, blaming it on bad luck.

Gerald Green provided the Celtics with a lift when he came off the bench and hit four first-half 3-pointers, scoring 16 points. Green finished with 21 points on 5-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc.

"Gerald was phenomenal," said Rivers.

Green's display clearly took the Bucks by surprise, even though he entered the night shooting 39.6 percent from international waters.

"Gerald Green, we knew he could shoot, but we didn't think he would shoot like that, " said Bucks coach Terry Stotts.

Green said he was just happy to get the win. "I would have been happy even if I'd had 2 points or no points," he said. "Just being a part of a team that's a winning team always feels good."

Milwaukee guard Earl Boykins in the first half with a laceration to his lower right leg, but returned. He went scoreless in 10 1/2 minutes . . . Rajon Rondo tied his career high with 11 assists . . . Sebastian Telfair can say he played a part -- albeit microscopic -- in snapping the Celtics' losing streak. The guard played the final 83 seconds . . . The Celtics made a season-high 15 3-pointers. Their previous best was 12 in a 118-90 win over Portland Nov. 17.