The Game That ESCALATED The LeBron vs Pierce Rivalry...

This is the game that escalated the rivalry between LeBron James and Paul Pierce. The double overtime thriller in 2006 between The Chosen One and The Truth deserves a deep breakdown. LeBron's big arrival in the NBA immediately caught Pierce's attention and their matchups instantly became a must-see TV. By 2006, they had already met 8 times and the record was split evenly. So on February 15th, every row led to Boston for another spectacle. And both guys were ready. That was a beautiful spin move by Pierce to get right past James for the layup. They embraced the assignment to guard each other on the defensive end but without any success early on. Paul connected on two straight buckets by creating a huge separation on Bron. This meant that James would have to come up with an answer. And he did just that by swishing this mid-range J over two defenders. But he definitely wasn't ready for this on the other end. Pierce left LeBron in the dust before exploding along the baseline for the one-handed jam. But despite all of that, the Celtics trailed by 7 points after one, mainly cause James was able to respond with 13 of his own. And he was sure he'll get this ain't one in his favor too but Brian Scalabrine had other plans. After taking a couple of minutes rest at the start of the quarter, the shootout continued. Eric Snow and Wally Zerbiak weren't gonna do anything against Pierce and James respectively. On the contrary, here's a very rare miss by LeBron all alone under the basket. I cannot believe how he missed the bunny. I guess it happens to the best of us. Meanwhile, the truth was balling. But as we saw earlier, the 22-year-old Bron was quietly keeping the Cavs in control throughout the second quarter as well. Heading into the break, Cleveland led by 7 points and after a hot shooting first half, both James and Pierce cooled down a bit in the third quarter. But I gotta show you this monster block by LeBron completely erasing Paul's layup attempt. And just a couple of possessions later, he does it again. On the next play, Bron made sure to get a payback on Scalabrine as well. Pierce had to work hard to get a clean look in the third period. While James was muscling his way to the rim. With 27 points and 8 assists, LeBron put the Cavs up by 8 points early in the fourth when Paul decided to step it up a notch. The truth goes on a personal 10-2 run to tie the game and energize the crowd. Amazing. And speaking of that, look at this connection between Wally and the white mamba underneath the rim. This is just poetry in motion. Pierce took notice of that and did this to LeBron. Pierce played like a man possessed in the final period, doing it all for his team when they needed it the most. So down by 2 with less than 2 minutes remaining, James was overdue to respond. The young king delivers one of his iconic poster dunks, annihilating Delonte West in the open lane. That was nasty. And so was the block by Virajao on Pierce on the other side. The Cavs were in a great spot to ice the game as Ilgauskas who is a career 78% free throw shooter was on the line looking to make it a 4 point game with 7 seconds left in regulation. But he missed both free throws, giving the Celtics just what they needed. Unlike Ilgauskas, Pierce stayed high school on the line to send the game into overtime, cause .2 seconds on the clock were too little for the Cavs to create something. However, James had plenty of time to create for himself in the extra period. With 6 points in a row, Brown put his team up by 4 points with 90 seconds to go. The pressure was speaking for the Celtics so Paul Pierce had to gut out another spectacular play. Paul gets Snow up in the air before laying it over Virajao plus the foul. There he was again at the foul line shooting to extend the game. Still, LeBron got 24 seconds and the ISO with Pierce to try and come up with the game winner. Brown gets to where he wants but the ball rims out and we go to a second overtime. And there, Boston looked like they wanted it more. James comes out of nowhere for the block to save his team from falling in a 4 point deficit. And Delante totally makes up for that by swatting away Snow's attempt on the other side. Scowl had the opportunity to be the Celtics hero but only if he'd make the shot. Otherwise, the punishment came quickly by the hands of Drew Gooden. And again, the white mamba tries to find Pierce underneath the basket but his pass ends up out of bounds. Meanwhile, Gooden followed the action perfectly from the dunker spot to draw a crucial foul and take over the lead for Cleveland from the foul line. So down by 2 in the clutch yet again, Pierce found himself on the charity stripe looking to continue his stellar performance. But he cracks under pressure and splits the free throws. And for his pain to be worse, just seconds later, this happens. Paul fouls out of the game with 1 minute still left on the clock. To score a career high 50 points and not get a chance to finish the game must have been agonizing for him. All that was left for him is to hope that his teammates can turn this thing around. But trailing by 2 points, Delonte West went on to shoot an air ball from just outside the painted area. And James on the other end bulldozed his way to the rim. LeBron puts his team on his back with a 43 point triple double. But after a couple of trips to the free throw line on both ends of the floor, the Celtics ultimately got another chance to tie the game when… Wally Zerbiak hits the back of the iron and Damon Jones just sets the final score at the end. Finally, after 2 overtimes, it was over and the Cavaliers escaped Boston with the victory. Paul's career best goes to waste as young LeBron took a 5-4 advantage in their personal battles. Throughout the years, they faced off a total of 69 times with LeBron taking 35 and Pierce 34 games. Speaking of iconic rivalries, I have to remind you of another one between Steve Nash and Jason Kidd who played an absolute deathmatch the following year in New Jersey. Both guys traded heavy blows in the clutch and I broke down everything in this video right here. Check it out and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.