On this day, Boston Celtics 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 product’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.
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.
The world may never know if there was poo involved in Truth.
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.
