Paul Pierce joined John Havlicek and Larry Bird as the only players in franchise history to score 20,000 points, totaling 28 points to lead the Celtics to a dramatic 105-102 overtime win against the Bucks at TD Garden on Wednesday night.
Right after the game during a sideline interview, an emotional Pierce thanked the fans.
Pierce scored his 20,000th career point at the free throw line with 10.3 second left in overtime. He became the 36th player in NBA history to reach the historic plateau.
Pierce followed it up by making the second free throw of the trip. The Bucks (1-4) called a timeout immediately after, and Celtics P.A. announcer Eddie Palladino announced that Pierce had reached the 20k mark in scoring.
As expected, the crowd at TD Garden erupted and gave Pierce a standing ovation.
With seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Pierce only had 11 points. However, he went on to score 12 more points in the final period and overtime to get the 23 points he needed to reach the milestone.
In addition, Pierce was mistake free at the free throw line, going 11-for-11.
Ray Allen scored 23 points and Rajon Rondo chipped in with 17 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds. With the last assist, Rondo surpassed Magic Johnson and John Stockton for the most assists through the first five games with 82. Rondo had tied Johnson and Stockton with his 14th assist in the fourth quarter.
Kevin Garnett added 13 points and seven rebounds and Glen Davis had 14 points and four rebounds off the bench.
The Celtics (4-1) trailed for the majority of the fourth quarter, but were saved by two three-point plays from Kevin Garnett and one from Pierce with less than three minutes remaining in the game.
Garnett took the ball to the hoop twice, was fouled both times and made both free throws. Pierce took it to the hoop once and made the free throw.
Jermaine O'Neal only two baskets for four points, but made on of them count late in overtime. With 1:49 left in overtime and the game tied at 95, O'Neal tipped in Allen's miss to give Boston a 97-95 lead.
Former number one pick Andrew Bogut paced the Bucks, scoring 21 points and collecting 13 rebounds. Ersan Ilyasova and Carlos Delfino added 15 points and Corey Maggette scored 11 points.
Brandon Jennings had a disappointing game, scoring only 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting with four assists.
With the win, the Celtics took a one-game advantage in the all-time series against the Bucks. Boston now has 92 wins against Milwaukee while the Bucks have 91 wins in the series.