The Toronto Raptors knew they should not engage with Paul Pierce.
They knew it, but it's just so hard.
The Wizards forward has built his entire personality around begging people to take a run at him.
Raptors GM Masai Ujiri couldn't resist a mildly profane taunt in the pre-game.
"People want me to say something about Paul Pierce, but we don't give a s--- about 'it'," Ujiri said, referencing Pierce's notorious jibe.
After it was over, and Pierce had won Game 1 for the Wizards, he was told about Ujiri's comments. He smiled.
"I think I can play the psychological war a little better than him."
He's right. Few have ever played it better. Pierce is a great player, and a much greater provocateur. As he ages, the latter is compensating for any slips in the former.
He's been nursing a sore knee toward the playoffs. Once he got there, he exploded – relative to the quality of the game. His 20 points led all scorers.
But you know this had nothing to do with rehab or excitement. Paul Pierce feeds on hate. It nourishes him. And Toronto couldn't help but fill his trough.
Before it started, they were chanting Pierce's name outside the ACC.
"(Blank) Paul Pierce. (Blank) Paul Pierce. (Blank) Paul Pierce."
He received an elemental jeering during introductions. This was the sort of anger that hasn't been heard at the ACC since Vince Carter's traitorous-heart heyday.
When Pierce first took the ball, they kicked off with "Paul Pierce sucks. Paul Pierce sucks."
Pierce brushed it aside, and took over.
Do you think it's foolish for fans to taunt this man?
"Nah," said DeMar DeRozan. "They got on him last year, and he won Game 1 for them. It happens."
DeRozan only seemed to realize halfway through his answer that he was undermining his own point.
Whether he'll admit or not, we all knew this was a terrible idea. It's one thing to poke the bear. It's another to stick your hand in his cage and dare him to bite it off.
Pierce was booed steadily through the wretched first half, and into the wretched second half. It only tailed off near the end, as people began to realize it was having the opposite of the desired effect.
"I get more enjoyment out of going on the road and getting a win than I do at home," Pierce said.
Please remember that. Paul Pierce consumes your fear and loathing like Cheerios. It sustains him.
The Raptors lost in overtime, 93-86. Pierce aside, the Wizards can't take the credit for winning. Instead, Toronto takes the blame for losing. It was the sort of game in which both teams spent two-and-a-half hours trying to wriggle in under each other.
"You can't say, 'My bad', on a play," DeRozan said on Friday, trying to describe what makes this time of year different. "That can't happen in the playoffs."
It did. All day long.
DeRozan was ice cold – shooting 6-for-20. Lou Williams was invisible until the end. The bench outscored the starters 48-38. The Wizards were allowed the freedom of the boards, doubling Toronto's output on the offensive end.
Up and down the roster, there wasn't a single player who distinguished himself.
Kyle Lowry was as bad as he's ever been, handling the ball like it had been greased. He fouled out midway through the fourth after throwing a pointless chop block on Washington's Bradley Beal.
As Lowry went to the bench, Beal gave him a cheeky little wave. That was as low as it got.
Washington did precisely one thing well – have Paul Pierce.
Throughout his career, he's been more of a talisman than a player. Pierce has that indefinable skill – he's a winner. And the more you want him to lose, the more winning he becomes.
"I don't mind playing the role of the underdog, villain. Whatever you want to call it," Pierce said afterward, grinning madly. "You just gotta embrace it. It's not like I'm a bad guy. Everybody knows I'm a good guy."
Whether or not it's true, let's pretend it is. The only way to stop Paul Pierce is to fully embrace him with an open heart.
Cathal Kelly