A Toronto newspaper took a not-so-subtle jab at the age of Paul Pierce and the veteran Brooklyn Nets, dubbing the series “Raptors vs. Dinosaurs.” But by the end of Game 1, the “Truthasaurus Rex” was born, and the Nets had stolen home-court advantage.

Relatively quite in the early going, No. 34 emerged as the hero late, netting nine fourth-quarter points to seal Brooklyn’s 94-87 road win. After the victory Paul retweeted a fan saying “Truthasaurus Rex 1, Raptors 0.”

Paul didn’t have much to say about the newspaper headline, except that it didn’t make an appearance on the Nets’ bulletin board and that he didn’t use it as any sort of motivation.

For The Truth, simply playing in a playoff atmosphere was motivation enough.

His big third started at the three-minute mark when he canned a three from the right wing off a feed from Deron Williams to put Brooklyn ahead by six. The Raptors were able to answer on the other end of the floor, but Paul came right back with another big bucket—a driving lay-in that brought lead back to six.

On the next possession, No. 34 added yet another bucket—a catch-and-shoot baseline jumper off an inbound pass from Shaun Livingston.

However, Toronto simply wouldn’t go away easily on its home floor. Grevis Vasquez answered with triple on the other end, but as he said afterward, The Truth wasn’t fazed by the situation.

“You just get that feeling, you’ve been in those situations a number of times,” Pierce said. “I don’t get rattled in the fourth quarter, down the stretch or in playoff settings. I’ve been in pretty much every playoff setting that you can imagine. I just try to stay calm and bring my calmness to the game.”

That calm showed on the following possession. Once again guarded by 25-year-old Patrick Patterson, Paul posted up and created just enough space at the top of the key to turn around and splash a mid-range jumper, giving the Nets a seven-point lead. After connecting on another crucial basket, Paul paraded to the other end of the floor exclaiming, “That’s why they got me here!”

While the Nets were certainly thrilled to see The Truth’s fourth-quarter heroics first-hand for the first time, it was old-hat for Kevin Garnett, his longtime teammate with the Boston Celtics.

“(I’ve seen Pierce do that) countless times, man,” Garnett said. “I knew when he hit that three, I knew he was in a rhythm. And then the ball just found him and he was just classic ‘Truth.’ Epic.”

After Paul drove the final nail into the coffin, Williams and Joe Johnson threw dirt on the victory, hitting six free throws over the final 22 seconds to seal the deal.

No. 34 explained the emotional tilt and the feeling of picking up a vital victory on the road.

“It’s just emotions flying high,” Paul said. “Playoffs, close game, taking some shots, making some shots … I really feed off the emotions of the crowd, especially on the road, and to go on the road and beat a team, I think it’s more gratifying than winning at home.”

After the game, Paul tossed his headband into the crowd at the Air Canada Centre, only to have it thrown back by some unhappy Raptor fans. He launched it back into the crowd one more time, where it stayed as he walked into the locker room, arms raised in triumph. The Truth joked about the exchange afterward.

“Yes (they wanted my headband),” No. 34 said with a sly smile. “The cameras were on them so they wanted to keep their pride. You saw that the third time was the charm.

“(The Toronto fan) will wear it one day as a souvenir.”

NEXT UP

Brooklyn will have a few days of rest before heading back to Toronto for Game 2 Tuesday night.

The contest is set for a 7:30 p.m. EDT tip.

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