On this day in Boston Celtics history, star forward Paul Pierce had to be carried off the court and placed in a wheelchair after having smashed his knee into teammate Kendrick Perkins late in the third quarter of Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The wind came out of Boston’s home arena, the Celtics looking hopelessly outmatched without the Kansas alum’s services being available. But after just a few moments of treatment in the locker room, Pierce reappeared, nailing a pair of 3-pointers. Boston would go on to win the game and the series in six games to secure their 17th and most recent championship, the most in league history.
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Rumors persist as to what exactly happened to Pierce on that day — a possibly apocryphal tale the Californian had a bowel movement seems to have been taken up by Pierce as a joke, but might also have been an admission.
BOSTON – JUNE 05: Paul Pierce #34 of the Boston Celtics returns to the court after being taken off in a wheelchair in the third quarter of Game One of the 2008 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers on June 5, 2008 at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
It is also the birthday of former Celtic guard Marcus Thornton, born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1987. Thornton played his college ball at LSU and would play for the Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings, and Brooklyn Nets before being dealt by the Nets to Boston as part of a three-team trade. Thornton would play 39 games for the Celtics, for whom he would average 8.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. The Louisianian would be traded by Boston to the Phoenix Suns as part of the package that brought point guard Isaiah Thomas, Gigi Datome, and Jonas Jerebko to the team.
Finally, it is also the day that Boston big man Meyer “Mike” Bloom left us in 1993. An alumnus of Temple, Bloom first joined the (now defunct) Baltimore Bullets before he was traded to the Celtics for Connie Simmons in 1948.
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Bloom played just 14 games to close out that season with Boston before he was on the move again, this time to the (then) Minneapolis (now, Los Angeles) Lakers when his contract was sold to the Celtics’ longtime rivals. Bloom averaged 9.2 points and an assist per game (rebounds had yet to be tabulated). Rest in peace.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics history: Pierce’s ‘wheelchair game’; Thornton born; Bloom dies