Hollywood, FL 5/4/2011 12:17:38 AM
Paul Pierce: "I Was Surprised at Getting Kicked Out"
Boston Celtics Player Surprised by Game Ejection
Paul Pierce said on Monday that he was surprised by his being ejected from the Boston Celtics' first Eastern Conference semi-finals game against the Miami Heat on Sunday.
Pierce was ejected from the game after receiving two technical fouls. The first tech came after Pierce got in the face of Heat guard James Jones, who had just fouled Pierce. The second tech came after Pierce drew a hard foul from Heat star player Dwyane Wade. The Celtics went on to lose the game 99-90.
"I probably overreacted," said Pierce. "I thought I was fouled excessively on both plays actually. I thought there should have been a flagrant on both [Jones and Wade], but it's up to me to keep my composure."
Pierce added, "I was surprised at getting kicked out, yeah, I was. I didn't think what I did warranted ejection. But, you know, sometimes a player gets caught in the hype of the game; sometimes the refs do, too. [Malloy] reacted the way he felt and that's what it was."
Pierce also explained that he felt remorseful about having let things get out of control. He explains that his remorse comes from the fact that he felt like he let his team down.
"I was more disappointed in letting my teammates down," said Pierce. "That's the first thing I said when I went to the locker room. When you put yourself in a situation that you can control and it hurts your team, that's what I was most upset about, and I can't do that. I'm too important to this team to be putting myself in those situations."
Pierce dismissed the idea that the ejection will somehow fire him up in a special way for Game 2.
"I don't need [any] motivation," said Pierce. "I don't need things to fire me up. I'm going to come out every game the same, regardless of what happens. I'm going to be ready to play, especially because of the fact that we lost. We're trying to get back. Even if we had won, I approach each and every game the same. I have a common goal, just like the rest of my teammates and that's to win a championship, and I'm trying to do whatever I can to make that happen, and that's the only incentive I need every time I suit up."
(Sources: ESPN.com)
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