Paul Pierce scored nine straight points on Saturday in the final three minutes of the Nets Game 1 win over the Toronto Raptors. And while most of the conversation on Tuesday, heading into Game 2, has been about the officiating, the Brooklyn beats spoke with Pierce about his performance and what it means to be "clutch."
The very talented Andy Vasquez reports:
Last month, here’s how Pierce suggested the Nets fix their road woes: "Probably gotta go to Costco and buy some road juice," he said, laughing. "I don’t know, some road mojo. I don’t know if they sell it there."
Well, Tuesday morning we learned what they do not sell at Costco: clutch.
"I don’t know, I think it’s just in the DNA," Pierce said, when asked about his ability to thrive late in games. "Everybody don’t have it, everybody’s not born with it, you can’t buy it at Costco or Walgreens, it’s in the DNA."
We checked Costco.com and there was a clutch, but not "clutch."
Pierce reiterated that it's a DNA thing, before saying that he hit his first game winner when he was in 9th grade. And from there, he got a "taste for the moment," and wanted nothing more than to have the ball in his hands with a chance to win a game for his team.
Also of note, Jason Collins, during his first press conference in Brooklyn, said that the first thing he did when he came to Brooklyn was shop at a Costco in New Jersey. So, Costco is a thing now, apparently.
- Paul Pierce On Clutch Play: "You can’t buy it at Costco" - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Paul Pierce on his clutch shooting: 'Can't buy it at Costco' - Rod Boone - Newsday
- Pierce: Can't buy clutch at Costco - Ohm Youngmisuk - ESPN New York