The Celtics had Doc Rivers exasperated. They had blown a five-point lead in the final minute of play and, in his words, “We really worked at getting it to overtime.”

It wasn’t a compliment.

There were turnovers, bad shots, timeouts that should have been called, missed assignments, bad switches. You get the idea.

But then, as he has done so many times before, Paul Pierce restored sanity in what had become an insanely competitive game against Milwaukee. Pierce made all eight of his free throw attempts, including one that put him over the 20,000-point mark for his career, and helped the Celtics to a 105-102 win. (Click here for a full recap).

It was an emotional moment, as Pierce acknowledged, but he had to concentrate on the task at hand. “It wouldn’t have felt good if we didn’t get the win, so I tried to keep my composure. Relax. Deep breaths. And I got the throws.”

Pierce’s heroics -- he had a game-high 28 points -- saved the Celtics from what would have been a disappointing loss. As he walked down the hallway, Pierce received congratulations from his coach on the milestone.

“Thanks coach,” he said in kind.

“Thank you, P,” Rivers responded.

They have been through a lot together in these six-plus seasons and as much as the day was about Kevin Garnett and his war of words with Charlie Villanueva, the night belonged to Pierce.

‘THAT IS THE CELTIC WAY’

There are only two other players in the history of the Boston Celtics who have scored over 20,000 points: Larry Bird and John Havlicek. It’s part of the allure of the franchise that when you make history in this uniform, you’re name is among the greats who have ever played the game.

“Five years ago I wouldn’t have dreamed I would be scoring 20,000 points in a Celtics uniform,” Pierce said. “The team was going in a direction. I was a disgruntled player at the time. To be here and to be talking about this feat is an incredible moment for me.”

Pierce has often talked about that summer five years ago when he made up his mind that he was going to change. He wasn’t going to fight it anymore. Not with his organization and not with his coach. If this was the way it was going to be, then he was going to do his part.

That’s the thing that makes his longevity so amazing in Boston. There are only three other players who have been with their team as long or longer than Pierce: Kobe Bryant with the Lakers, Tim Duncan with the Spurs and Dirk Nowitzki with the Mavericks.

Each of those three has been part of consistent winners throughout his career. Bryant and Duncan had championships early and all three had MVP awards. Bryant and Duncan flirted with the idea of leaving their respective cities but neither of them ever seemed so certain to leave as Pierce once did.

His career is still unfolding and there is still time to add to his achievements and milestones, but one thing that can always be said about Pierce is that he stuck it out. It wasn’t always pretty, but he made it work.

“That is the Celtic way,” Rivers said. “When you think about it, all the guys that have the big numbers with the Celtics were basically Celtics. So it’s fitting in a lot of ways because that is the way it’s been done around here for a long, long time.”

WITH SHAQ OUT, THE CELTICS TURN TO PLAN C

The original idea, when Danny Ainge brought all these big men together to replace Kendrick Perkins, was that Jermaine O’Neal would start and Shaquille O’Neal would come off the bench.

Then Jermaine O’Neal got hurt and Shaq became the starter. Now Shaq is hurt and Jermaine is the starter again, while rookie Semih Erden is in the rotation.

Shaq missed his second straight game and he’s not likely to play Friday against the Bulls. He also might not play on the Celtics' upcoming four-game road trip.

That leaves the other O’Neal, who before Tuesday had scored just two points. After a strong 12-point effort against the Pistons, O’Neal had five points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in 25 minutes before fouling out.

Those aren’t overwhelming numbers, but they are what the Celtics are asking for from Jermaine O’Neal.

Erden, on the other hand, remains a project. He shows flashes of brilliance and at other times looks very much like a rookie center trying to adjust to a new league and a new language.

“We’re playing him either way,” Rivers said. “Whether he plays well or not, we’re going to play Semih. We just have to throw him in there. It’s just going to take some time and I have to be patient with him.”

Patience and rookies have not really been part of Rivers’ vocabulary since this team changed from a development squad to one that competes for championships, but perhaps this is the best way to get Erden acclimated. 

“He’s going to have some very good games and he’s going to have some games where he struggles,” Rivers said. “Those are the ‘breathe games,’ where we have to breathe through it. We need him on the floor because later in the year we may need him.”

The coach meant they may need him in games that truly matter, as opposed to early November contests like the one Wednesday night. This game was a breathe game because after O’Neal and Glen Davis fouled out, Rivers was down to either playing Erden or going with a small lineup. Rivers elected to go small with Marquis Daniels and it paid off. 

The Celtics knew this was going to be a reality when they signed all these players and they’re just going to have to adjust to making it up as they go along.

THE NEW, NEW POINT GUARD BATTLE

Rajon Rondo has worked for four years to reach a level where he can be compared with Chris Paul and Deron Williams in one of the great NBA arguments of this generation.

Now comes his next test, because behind him is a crop of young point guards who want what he has.

“You make the All-Star team then you’re the target,” Rivers said. “There’s a lot of guards. There’s only a certain amount of them that can make that team. At the beginning of the year each guard is thinking I want his job on the All-Star team. He’s a target.”

Rondo dominated Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings Wednesday night, churning out a line of 17 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds.

This is his challenge now. In the past, it was generally assumed that Rondo got up for certain games and let his attention wander in others, depending on the level of competition. As he continues to make his way into the level of truly great players in the game, he has to be at his best almost every night.

So far this season there has only been one game, against Cleveland, when Rondo wasn’t dominant. Not coincidentally that was the one game the Celtics lost.

It’s his world now. Derrick Rose is up next.