Their captain became a quarter-master

Kevin Garnett creaked up to the interview table behind Paul Pierce, glancing at the box score before Pierce got a chance to admire his work.

Garnett said to Pierce, "That felt like 45 minutes, didn't it?"

The look on Pierce's face - the bug-eyed surprise - said he hadn't realized he had clocked that much time.

He had lost himself in a fourth-quarter scoring binge that saved the Celtics and demoralized the Raptors, who were up by as many as 16 points but fell, 94-87, last night thanks in no small part to the 22-point period Pierce assembled as a part of a 36-point bailout.

It was, as Doc Rivers said, the kind of night the Celtics had been waiting for out of their captain. Every shot seemed like a big one in a quarter that saw Pierce hit seven of nine attempts and drill two from 3-point range.

During a timeout, Rivers pulled Pierce aside and said, "It's about time. We've been waiting a couple games for this."

After waiting seven games, Pierce made them wait another frigid 24 minutes. He was 2 for 10 in the first half, at one point streaking through the lane and missing a wide-open layup.

Rivers never had any doubt that Pierce would keep shooting. Mostly because Pierce guaranteed as much in one of their huddles.

"That's why he's a great player," Rivers said. "That's why great players are great players. The average player could not have withstood that. The average player misses shots and he shuts off. The great player misses shots and he starts thinking the odds are on his side."

Pierce scored 5 points in the third quarter; then came Garnett's favorite part in a show he has seen many times in his short stint in Boston.

"I love when Superman goes in the booth and transforms," he said. "I love it. I got the best seat in the house. I get to hear what's going on in the huddle, and I get to see it."

Even though Pierce said his goal was to stay within the offense, the way Leon Powe described it, Pierce was the offense.

"We basically said, 'Paul, you go one-on-one, and if you miss, we'll get the rebound,' " said Powe.

The "one" in question was Anthony Parker, who along with Jason Kapono had thrown daggers at the Celtics all night.

Jermaine O'Neal had 19 as the Raptors cruised in the first half, but was quieted in the second (4 points) as Pierce started to heat up.

"He played real well," O'Neal said. "All those guys are really streaky, and if they get going, they get going in a major way. He made some shots. He got a rhythm, too. He got a rhythm at the free throw line and that can really get you going sometimes."

Eddie House put it succinctly: "It just got to the point where the Truth just took over. He started making shots."

After the game, Pierce's shooting hand was iced and wrapped. A reporter half-joked, "Is that hand still on fire?"

It was actually sprained - a "minor injury" that has nagged Pierce for weeks.

"I just try not to think about it," he said. "It's really been bothering me. I don't know if it's because of the way I've been shooting lately. But it's been bothering me lately. And it seems like when it starts to get better it gets hit again."

The only thing that bothered Rivers was that he had gotten away from the plan and extended Pierce's minutes. But after playing just 28 minutes against Detroit Sunday, Pierce said he could have played for hours, especially now that he had found his rhythm.

"I've been sort of in a slump lately," he said. "Hopefully with a game like this I can start playing a little bit better.

"It's going to be a long season. I don't worry about slumps. I just worry about doing what I need to do to help this ball club win."