December 2, 2008
A night of tragedy eight years ago forged a bond between Paul Pierce and Tony Battie.
They were Celtics teammates in 2000 when Pierce was stabbed 11 times inside Boston's Buzz Club. At the scariest moment of Pierce's life, Battie was there for him - literally. Battie was in the club at the time of the attack and raced to Pierce's aid. With Pierce suffering from stab wounds to his face, neck and back, Battie raced his teammate to Tufts New England Medical Center.
Remarkably, Pierce was back on the court in time for the C's season opener just a month after the incident. The quick recovery didn't surprise Battie, who now serves in a reserve role for the Orlando Magic. ``Paul is a strong-willed guy and if anyone can make it through that situation, it would be him,'' Battie said before scoring nine points for the Magic in a 107-88 loss to the Celtics last night at the Garden. ``It really doesn't surprise me.''
Pierce and Battie made their debuts for the Celtics during the 1998-99 season, Pierce as a rookie out of Kansas and Battie as a second-year player acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers in a trade. They became fast friends and remained close after the Celtics traded Battie to Cleveland in 2003. ``We're still close,'' Battie said. ``The funny thing is when you're teammates, no matter what team you're on, you spend so much time on the road with guys, they become family to you.''
Pierce and Battie stay in contact regularly. Battie was one of many former teammates who reached out to Pierce after the C's captain finally captured an elusive championship last season. ``I just told him congratulations, he finally got one,'' Battie said. ``Ever since I played here, they cleared house. There are only two guys out of 15 (remaining: Pierce and Kendrick Perkins), so I was happy to see that he was a mainstay and he was able to dedicate his whole career right here to the city of Boston and he was able to bring them a championship.''
They don't talk about it much, but Pierce and Battie realize the impact that night eight years ago has had on their relationship. ``We were close before that, but just him being there for me definitely made us closer,'' Pierce, who had 24 points last night, said. ``I think we definitely have a bond, probably for lifetime.''
No comments:
Post a Comment