Pierce ten points away from Bird

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BOSTON -- Paul Pierce scored his first points as Boston Celtic on February 5, 1999.

13 years later to the date, he is only 10 points shy of passing Larry Bird for second in scoring in Celtics franchise history.

After recording 21 points on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies, Pierce has tallied 21,782 points in green. Bird scored 21,791 points and John Havlicek holds the franchise record with 26,395 points.

It means Ive been in a Celtics uniform for a long time, Pierce reflected following Sundays game. Thats something that doesnt happen in this day and age. Ive been fortunate to play with one franchise for my whole career to date, and you dont really see that too much anymore. Youve got a few guys who do it, but its a rarity. Its pretty much extinct. Its great to be amongst some of the best that ever played the game.

Pierce is on pace to pass Birds mark on Tuesday night against the Charlotte Bobcats at the TD Garden. Reaching that milestone in front of the home crowd would be significant to the Celtics captain.

Its just an honor just being a Celtic for as long as Ive been, he said. These fans are very knowledgeable fans. A lot of these fans out there have been able to watch Bird all his career. A lot of these fans have been able to watch me through my career. It would probably be pretty emotional. The fans would probably be really into it. Im just going about my job and try to win the game. Im really not going to really think about it. Im not really going to be pressing for it. Its just the fact that Ive been a Celtic so long that Ive had these opportunities.

Pierce came to the Celtics as a Los Angeles Lakers fan from California and now is on the verge of breaking a mark set by one of the most beloved athletes to ever play in Boston.

I didnt plan on having any records when I got here, said Pierce. When you get here, first you learn about the history of the Celtics because as a kid I didnt 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 into the history of it and understand what being a Celtic is all about and understanding what Larry did for the franchise and Bill Russell and the John Havliceks and Hondos, you come to really appreciate where youve come and what it really means when youre mentioned amongst these people.

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