After 13-plus seasons in a Celtics uniform, the 34-year-old Pierce entered the game needing just nine points to tie (and 10 to pass) Larry Bird, who finished his 13-year career with 21,791 points. Bird has held that spot for nearly 24 years, since passing Bob Cousy on February 22, 1988.
After scoring seven first-half points to close within two of Bird, The Truth made his fourth 3-point attempt to seal the deal, with 10:22 remaining in the third quarter of Tuesday night’s game against the Bobcats.
Pierce finished with 15 points in a 94-84 win over the Bobcats, to bring his total career points to 21,797.
Passing Bird is impressive, but Pierce is also in his 14th season and has played almost 100 more games than Bird, who scored 21,791 points during his 13 seasons in Bean Town. Bird still leads the Celtics in points per game (24.3), while Pierce is second in that category with 22.1.
Pierce recently told The Herald News that; “I didn’t plan on having any records when I got here. When you get here, first you learn about the history of the Celtics because as a kid, I didn’t really know much other than they were one of the great teams. I was a Laker fan, obviously. People know this, but, once you are engulfed in the history of it and understand what being a Celtic is all about and understanding what Larry and Bill Russell and John Havlicek did for the franchise , you come to really appreciate where you’ve come and what it really means when you’re mentioned among those people.”
It’s highly unlikely Pierce will catch John Havlicek, who remains the Boston Celtics’ all-time leading scorer with 26,395 points during his Hall of Fame career, leaving Pierce over 4,000 points away.