It was an emotional night for the C’s captain as he further cemented his place in Celtic history after passing Larry Bird on the all-time leaderboard for second most points in franchise history. Here’s Pierce’s full comments on his achievement, along with reaction from his coach and his teammates:

On Passing Larry Bird: “It was a relief. So much was hanging over me the last couple of days just hearing about it. Knowing that you got a game to play and so many people talked about it and talked about it. I mean that for me, its a great feat knowing that you are going to be up there with all the great Celtics, ya know Larry Bird is probably onoe of the most important players that ever played in this franchise. Just to be up there and have your name up there with them is a great honor.”

On His Video Tribute: “I actually saw little glimpses of it, Doc was talking in the time out, ya know you just try to focus in on the game and you just soak it in, soak it all in after the game. I’ll probably soak it in a little bit more once I go home and sit down and realize what’s really going on. Right now its just, its so fresh in my head right now that the game is over.”

On his standing ovation: “We have great fans. They’ve seen it all from my younger days, from my trials and tribulations, to this point today and its just a great honor just for them to be able to stand up and give me that type of ovation. Being a Celtic for all these years and understanding what it means to be a Celtic and the ups and downs you go through and just to come to this point in your career it really means so much just the support that they have given me over the years.”

Why did he stay loyal to Boston? “Just having confidence in the ownership and Danny. Just knowing how great this franchise can be, knowing the  history, knowing that once this franchise gets back to where it needs to be and if I’m a part of it there’s no other franchise like this in all of basketball. You knew eventually it would turn around. I’ve just always been the optimist just knowing eventually ‘the next year, the next year’ that’s what I always kept saying to myself that it would eventually turn around and it took one summer for us to turn this thing around and I’m just thankful that just my patience was able to pay off.”

On passing Bird, while growing up a Lakers fan: “Well growing up in Englewood I would of said I wouldn’t of been a Celtic, I’m not gonna be a Celtic if somebody was to say it at the time. That’s incredible. In my mind one of the top 5 players that ever played the game. I’m not gonna sit here and say that I’m anywhere near his accomplishments, but just to be mentioned with him with this organization is a great honor.”

Was he forcing it at all in the first half? “I’m not gonna lie, it was just hanging over my head too much, I mean how could it not. With every deep breath that the crowd was taking, every shot that went up you kind of just felt that it was hard to really ignore it and really focus on the game and then coach said ‘hurry up get it out the way.’ It was a relief once I hit the one three so I could just really focus and concentrate on the game.”

Where does this rank for him in career achievements? “Its really hard to think about it right now. I haven’t had a chance to really sit back and think about my career and all the accomplishments I’ve had. It has to be right up there. There’s nothing better than winning a championship, but I’m going to sit back and let it sink all in and put a ranking on it.”

Doc Rivers

On Pierce’s achievement: “It’s just awesome.  I mean, I told the guys you’ve got to have several things: One, is longevity.  The second thing is health.  And then I said the third – and the fourth – the third thing is you’ve got to be old as hell, because you’ve got to stick around a long time.  And then the fourth thing: you’ve got to ball.  You’ve got to play some amazing basketball.  Here.  To do what he did.  You know, passing Larry Bird – that’s impressive.”

On Pierce’s career: “You know, here’s the part I wish people wrote more about Paul: Paul had a chance to leave us when we were bad.  And instead of moaning that he wanted to go to a championship team, he stayed.  And he said, ‘I simply want to be a Celtic and I trust that we’re going to win a title some day.’  He had no reason to believe that, at that time.  I mean, we were pretty awful.  And to me, I wish people talked about his loyalty more, because I think that’s special, especially in this day and time, when everybody’s jumping from team to team.  And that’s their right, too, I don’t begrudge that with anybody, but I do think it’s special that Paul Pierce decided that he wanted to be a Celtic for his life.  And I think that’s pretty cool.  In this day and time, in any sport, I think that’s special.”

Was Paul nervous? “I don’t think Paul’s nervous, ever.  I just – he may have been but I just think he just – you know, pressing may be a different word; I don’t even know that.  I think our guys were pressing more than Paul.  I mean, Paul kept telling them, ‘Just play.’  And they were passing up shots, so it was no fun for me early on because we’ve got to win the game.”

Kevin Garnett on Pierce’s career

“Paul’s from a rough neighborhood, from brothers and a loving mother and family, so he always had a sense of character and depth to him. When it came to basketball, he was always in the backyard working. I remember he was always talking about David Robinson. Couldn’t understand that one, but you know, it wasn’t for me to understand. But you saw the drive, you saw what motivated him, you saw what pushed him. Being in LA, other players were considered better than him, and that drove him from day one. We’ve just had a lot of similarities, a lot of things pushing us, a lot of things driving us as young guys. We just so happen to be best friends and have a lot in common. So congratulations to The Truth.”"

Coach Doc Rivers initially suggested that the MRI was on O’Neal’s left knee and was a regularly scheduled visit to monitor the chronic injury (he also suffered a bone bruise on his left knee cap last month in the first meeting with Orlando). The team later clarified it was the right knee.

Results were not immediately available and the team will determine his game status after a closed walkthrough on the TD Garden floor on Sunday morning.

This is honestly partially good news, given how poorly he played for most of Friday night. (A mea culpa from me as well on the lack of grades Friday night, which was my fault and not Brendan’s. They will return as scheduled tomorrow afternoon.) With Chris Wilcox coming on strong, Jermaine shouldn’t be missed too much in the interim, although guarding Marc Gasol tomorrow without him will be a chore.

Marquis Daniels and Keyon Dooling also did not practice, and it appears Dooling may be the next guy back in uniform if he can manage to play for a couple days pain-free. Here’s Doc again via Chris Forsberg:

“Keyon is close, but he just can’t breakthrough,” said Rivers. “We thought he’d be back a couple games ago and he did some stuff and got sore again, so we just don’t know.”

Finally, a refreshing take from Rajon Rondo on his rusty and lackluster play last night after a two week absence. Given how much he hasn’t been able to do with a right wrist injury, the fact he came back without even a practice was a testament to the team’s trust in him, but a side effect of the team really having no practice time with this schedule to work himself into shape. Here’s his raw take on his tough night on Friday: (Via Forsberg)

“I try not to get too down, too negative on myself, but I was pretty [bad] last night,” he said. “Realistically, I haven’t touched a ball since Toronto because of the wrist. I’m a right-handed player, so I couldn’t shoot free throws. I beat myself up because I missed three free throws and because of the turnovers I made. I wasn’t strong [enough] to make the pass. That was the sacrifice I made to go out there and play.”

A couple more games to help Rajon re-integrate himself into the offense and get more comfortable with his shooting should work wonders for this team in its quest to get back into the top half of the Eastern Conference. Until then, it could be some more choppiness offensively like we saw Friday night.

We’re back tomorrow morning with the Grizz preview.

I am legally required to provide this update, wherein Dwight Howard indicates that he would sort of definitely maybe consider the Celtics. Or at least he wouldn’t hang up on them.

Steve Bulpett stokes the fires of madness over at the Herald:

And if Howard is still available — if the Magic don’t blink and move him before the March deadline — C’s president Danny Ainge will undoubtedly put in a call to Team Dwight.

The question is whether he’ll answer.

“Always. Always,” Howard told the Herald. “I’d always listen to a team like that.

“My thing is I want to win. It’s not something like I’m doing this for money. I win. I want to do it my way.”

Don’t lie. Your hopes are rising, aren’t they? I can tell just by looking at you.

Well, there’s more, but you have to click past the jump it you want it:

“You know,” said Howard, “you look at a team like Boston and look at a team like LA who’s won … especially Boston. Man, those guys came together and they didn’t care who scored all the points. They had done all the individual stuff.

“You know, for me, I’ve done a lot of things individually, but I want a championship. All those accolades that I’ve got over the years, they mean a lot, but it’s just different watching teams hold up that trophy and knowing how hard you have to work to get it.

“They have the championship mentality,” he said of the Celts. “It means a lot. Like I said, I like the team. They play hard and they go after it, and that’s what I like.”

Three thoughts:

1) Bulpett goes out of his way not to manufacture anything and notes that Howard has referenced his regard for Boston before, but once the questions are asked of him, Dwight has little choice but to respond. And since there’s not much negotiating leverage to be gained by disparaging one of the few teams with available cap space this summer, this becomes a story whether it’s a story or not.

2) Dwight Howard is exactly the kind of player Danny Ainge wants. A franchise-altering superstar. Pretty much everything he’ll do over the next couple of years will be with an eye to adding a player of this caliber. So, as long as Howard doesn’t sign an extension with some other team, Ainge will pursue him.

3) I’d bet my life that Howard ends up elsewhere. Okay, not my life. But definitely Brendan’s and Hayes’ and Brian’s lives.

Danny Ainge’s offseason got a bit more challenging today when Kevin Love agreed to terms on a 4-year contract extension with the Timberwolves. He can opt out after three years but that takes him out of play for the C’s, the same way the Clippers’ acquisition of Chris Paul eliminated him as a target. Dwight Howard, of course, remains completely uninterested in Boston.

There’s more than one way to use cap space, though. Ainge can still make a play for a star through a trade, because he’ll have the ability to absorb salary, which will put him at a premium position relative to most of his peers. Finding a star may not be a summer-2012 proposition but common belief is the Celtics are not interested in a long-term rebuild through the draft (likely because they don’t want to sabotage fan attendance or interest while fielding a lineup filled with the Sebastian Telfairs and Gerald Greens of the world).

The one thing I’d caution C’s fans against is expecting big money contracts for supporting players, like the one Denver handed to Danilo Gallinari. Ainge has been careful to avoid paying non-stars big money the last few years and that’s likely to continue.

Additional deals with the class of 2008 can be completed up to midnight ET tonight.

***

The Celtics may try and one-up their successful Monday night formula tomorrow in the second half of a home-and-home against the Magic. Which is to say they may have six guys on the bench in street clothes instead of five.

Chris Forsberg lets us know that Mickael Pietrus, Keyon Dooling, Chris Wilcox, Rajon Rondo and the newly injured Jermaine O’Neal (knee, wrist) all participated in practice today, but will be game-time decisions tomorrow. Ray Allen did not make the trip to Orlando.

It’s good news everyone is getting close and on the back of the spirited efforts of Monday night’s mix-and-match lineups, it’s not even that discouraging if they don’t play. The bench may not be able to step up so boldly two games in a row, but if it’s Avery Bradley and Sasha Pavlovic starting in the backcourt tomorrow, the C’s know they can still eke out a win. And this season, more than ever, is about the long game. The last thing Boston needs is Rondo falling hard on that wrist and spending an extended period of time on the injured list.

It’s a question I’ve been thinking about for awhile now. The boys over at ESPNBoston.com and I threw it out there for today’s 3-on-3 discussion. Be sure to give the whole thing a read, but here’s a sampling of our differing thoughts.

Payne: That’s a tough one, but I’m going to say no. I don’t think Davis was here for long enough to warrant a tribute, even though he did leave Celtics fans with many memories. Part of the reason Kendrick Perkins got one was because of his many years with the club, and Davis didn’t come close to touching that longevity.

Robb: Despite any ill will that may linger from both sides, I still feel like Davis deserves something. He was a productive member of that 2008 Championship squad, and carried the C’s to another Finals win alongside Nate Robinson against the Lakers in 2010. Are we talking about a Perk-sized tribute here? Absolutely not. Some kind of acknowledgement, however brief, would suffice and help further the C’s reputation as a classy organization when it comes to former players.

Forsberg: Absolutely. Sure, Davis wasn’t a monster contributor to that 2007-08 title team, at least not in the Finals, where he appeared in only one game (playing 15 minutes in that lopsided and clinching Game 6 at TD Garden). But he was a consistent presence during his four seasons in Boston, ramping up to a starter-like role as the first big off the bench last season. When Garnett went down during the 2008-09 playoffs, it was the Ticket Stub that stepped up. Davis also aided the run to the 2010 Finals. He deserves a tribute like the other members of that 2008 team. Though, it’d be even better if they played his “It’s the fourth quarter!” crowd pump-up video or maybe him singing Kesha’s TiK ToK.