Former Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce made a career out of making opponents angry on the court, both with his trash talk and with his penchant for end-of-game heroics. Since joining the ESPN broadcast booth, Pierce has found another arena for himself from which he can rankle people. Earlier this year, he caused an uproar by comparing himself to Dwyane Wade, which pitted Celtics fans against Miami Heat fans and sparked a week-long conversation. On Sunday, following the Celtics’ 112-90 victory over the Bucks at Fiserv Forum, Pierce made another bold proclamation. “As a team, I don’t know where Milwaukee goes from here,” Pierce said. “I think the series is over.” A few things: - No, it isn’t. - The Bucks have another home game. If they win that game, the series goes back to Boston tied, and Milwaukee just needs a split to return back to Fiserv Forum with the same home-court advantage they enjoyed going into the series. - The Bucks have Giannis Antetokounmpo. Obviously, the Celtics have one of the best defenders against Giannis in the league, but Horford isn’t going to be able to keep the Bucks superstar under wraps for an entire series. - Pierce really seems to love his role as a provocateur, which was probably predictable from the moment it was announced he would get into TV. Anyway, while the Celtics are certainly better positioned to win on Monday (and with all due respect to Pierce), this series quite clearly is not over. Game 2 tips off at 8 p.m. EST on Tuesday.<doc-sep>Michael Dwyer/Associated Press The cliche is that a playoff series doesn't start until the road team wins a game. Apparently, at least in the eyes of ESPN analyst Paul Pierce, a series is actually over if the road team wins a game. 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To Pierce's credit, it was a display of dominance from Boston that resulted in a 112-90 blowout win, but the Bucks also featured the best record in the NBA during the regular season. All it will take from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. is one win in Boston to steal home-court advantage back, and Milwaukee is 2-0 away from home in these playoffs. This is far from Pierce's first hot take to make waves this season, as he also said he was better than Dwyane Wade despite the fact the Miami Heat legend had a far better resume. Wade was a three-time champion, eight-time All-NBA selection, 13-time All-Star, an NBA Finals MVP, a scoring champion and a three-time All-Defensive selection, while Pierce was a one-time champion, NBA Finals MVP, four-time All-NBA selection and 10-time All-Star. Pierce also played 15 of his 19 seasons on the Celtics, so he's not exactly an objective source when it comes to evaluating Boston's chances against the Bucks. Still, the series will be "over" if the Celtics continue to play like they did Sunday. But Milwaukee had the look of a championship contender during the regular season and will have plenty of chances to make this a battle.<doc-sep>The Boston Celtics handed the Milwaukee Bucks their first loss of the 2019 NBA Playoffs after a 112-90 victory on Sunday afternoon. Prior to the game, the Bucks were undefeated in this year’s playoffs after sweeping the Detriot Pistons in their first-round matchup. After the game, former Celtics forward and current ESPN/ABC Countdown analyst Paul Pierce stated he felt the series is over and Boston has more talent than the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis definitely has to play better, but as a team, I don’t know where Milwaukee goes from here because… I think it is over… When I watch this today, if Giannis doesn’t have a monster game and if somebody besides him doesn’t step up. Boston is just going to out-talent them because when you look down the line if Kyrie Irving doesn’t have a great game. Tatum, he didn’t play well today. He could step up big the next game, so it is like Milwaukee as a coaching staff. Do I say okay do we focus our concentration on Kyrie because now Tatum can step up. Guys like Marcus Morris step up, Terry Rozier and that is why the Celtics are dangerous and just have more talent than the Milwaukee Bucks. Kyrie Irving led the Celtics in scoring with 26 points, seven rebounds, and 11 assists, while Al Horford added 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. As for Jayson Tatum, he did not have a great game like Pierce said in the video above, only scoring four points, grabbing six rebounds, and dishing out one assist. However, Jaylon Brown and Gordon Hayward chipped in a combined 32 points, taking care of some of the scoring load Tatum usually contributes. MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo finished game one with 22 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Fellow all-star Khris Middleton was able to collect a double-double with 16 points, and ten rebounds, but that was not enough to bet the Celtics and maintain their record spotless in this year’s playoffs. Eric Bledsoe did not play like he just signed a new $70 million deal on Sunday, only contributing six points, two rebounds, and four assists. Nikola Mirotić scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds off the bench. The Bucks are going to need other players, such as former all-star Brook Lopez and George Hill, to provide more scoring off the bench in Game 2 than just nine points to have a chance of proving Pierce wrong.<doc-sep>
Paul Pierce makes bold statement after Celtics' Game 1 win vs. Bucks originally appeared on nbcsportsboston.com The Milwaukee Bucks had the NBA's best record in the regular season and cruised through the first round of the NBA playoffs, sweeping the Detroit Pistons. Superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was fantastic all year and likely will win the NBA's MVP award. All of that and more led oddsmakers to peg the Bucks as -300 favorites to beat the Boston Celtics in their Eastern Conference semifinals series starting Sunday afternoon at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. The Celtics came into Milwaukee and dominated the Bucks for a 112-90 series-opening victory. Boston's defense was fantastic, limiting Antetokounmpo to 22 points on 7-for-21 shooting while forcing him into tough looks at the basket. The performance was enough for Celtics legend and current ESPN NBA analyst Paul Pierce to make a bold declaration about the series. "I think it's over," Pierce said during ABC's postgame coverage. Check out the beginning of his remarks in the video below: The Celtics won't sweep the Bucks -- a long series remains the most likely outcome -- but this Game 1 did help show that Boston unequivocally has more talent. The Celtics' depth, especially when the Bucks are without an injured Malcolm Brogdon, is far superior to Milwaukee's. The Celtics have so many players capable of stepping up when others play poorly. Jayson Tatum scored only four points in 30 minutes Sunday, but Jaylen Brown stepped up with 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting. Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier both scored in double-figures off the bench. Marcus Morris had nine points but shot an efficient 4-for-6 from the field. Kyrie Irving has enjoyed more playoff success in his career than any player in the series and dropped 26 points (without taking a single free throw) with 11 assists Sunday. He's also by far the best late-game closer on either team. Story continues The Bucks will be better in Game 2 on Tuesday night. It would be difficult for them to play any worse than Game 1. But the Celtics do have more talent. It took the C's nearly the entire regular season to figure out the best rotations and how to fit everyone's talents into one cohesive unit, but through five playoff games (all wins), it looks like Brad Stevens has found a solution (or at least something better than what we saw throughout the regular season). So, while Pierce's bold comments may sound insane, they're not totally crazy. The Celtics should win this series, and their chances improved after stealing homecourt advantage with a Game 1 victory. Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device.