Celtics legend Paul Pierce believes Knicks got "lucky" beating Boston in second round

Paul Pierce was one of the greats of his era, getting numerous all-star nods and winning NBA Finals MVP in 2008.

Since retiring, Pierce has done media with companies like ESPN and Fox Sports.

Hearing a hot take here and there from the former star player isn't anything too surprising, but one specific recent take raised the eyebrows of some people.

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Pierce believes that Knicks winning series didn't tell the whole story

Pierce compared the matchup between the Knicks and Celtics to a boxing match and thought that the Celtics were the better fighter that lost.

He expanded on his analogy even more with this quote:

“You have two boxers go 12 rounds. I'll beat you up for 11 rounds, and then you caught me in the 12, and you slap me. Who was the better fighter?”

The Celtics had a meltdown in Game 1 and Game 2, blowing two substantial double-digit leads that put them down 2-0.

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Between Game 1 & 2, the Celtics held the lead for 1:21:05 while the Knicks only did for 11:09.

The Celtics went on to lose both these games despite having about 70 more minutes with the lead.

At the end of the day, whether he is right or not, the Celtics did not convert and protect the lead when they had to, so time with lead doesn't matter.

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It does show some correlation to the point The Truth is making, but it's the very reason a game is 48 minutes and series isn't determined in one or two games.

The Celtics weren't consistent enough for a full game which gave them too difficult of a gap to overcome once they made the series 3-2.

Some could blame losing Games 1 & 2 on the Celtics more than credit the Knicks for winning because of how poorly they shot the ball given all the opportunities they had, but the Knicks were able to take advantage of it.

The Knicks outplayed the Celtics in Games 4 & 6, and the Celtics will have a summer to reflect on what the series could have been if they just kept it together for one of the games they blew.

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