The Washington Wizards have been one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams in the first month of play, and Paul Pierce has spent the first several weeks settling into a new role for his team that sits at No. 2 in the standings.

After playing the majority of his career as a go-to offensive player, The Truth is taking on a different name on a roster with several skilled scorers, including John Wall, Bradley Beal, Marcin Gortat and numerous key role players.

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Coming off a Wednesday night loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Wiz were locked in a tight battled with the New Orleans Pelicans that forced No. 34 to embrace his new job. In the waning minutes, Paul recorded a clutch block on a corner three attempt from Ryan Anderson to help his squad close out an 83-80 victory.

Following the game, Paul talked about his new mentality in D.C., and how he helped his team pick up a crucial win at home despite attempting just six shots on the night.

“We’ve got a lot of talent on this ballclub,” Paul said of the Wizards. “And they sometimes get a lot of the shots, so I really try to focus in on the defense and help try to grind out the win.”

WIZ FALL IN CLEVELAND Washington Wizards v Cleveland Cavaliers

The sense of urgency Saturday night against New Orleans was set up by an ugly 113-87 Wednesday night defeat to Cleveland—which marked Washington’s first two-game losing streak of the young season.

It was clear from the start that the Cavs were hungry for revenge. Washington topped Cleveland 97-78 in D.C. just five days earlier, and this time, the script was flipped as the two teams met on Lake Erie. Despite a solid night from Paul, who finished 4-of-5 for 15 points with three boards and three assists, the Wizards trailed almost the entire game.

The Cavs showed greatly improved chemistry and commitment to defense that wasn’t present in the nation’s capital, which was apparent in a 31-18 first quarter and stayed throughout the night.

“They’re a more comfortable team at home, and you’ve got to expect that,” The Truth said after the game. “But like I said, we didn’t establish our defensive identity tonight from the jump, we didn’t play with the physicality that was needed at either end of the floor.”

While the Wiz lacked aggression as a team, Paul brought it individually against one of his longtime rivals, LeBron James. He attacked the basket throughout the night, going to the line 10 times while no other D.C. player attempted more than two shots from the charity stripe. He also contended strongly with James on the defensive end, even taking an inadvertent shot to the face from the 6-8, 250-pound forward.

Paul sunk a driving layup off a setup from Wall to start the game and give Washington its only lead of the night at 2-0. However, he took and made just one more shot in the first half.

The Wizards were sloppy offensively, turning the ball over 10 times in the first two quarters, while the Cavs shot 51.4 percent to take a 58-46 lead behind a combined 38 points from James, Kevin Love and Anderson Varejao.

After a rough first half, Paul and the D.C. veterans knew they needed a change. Cleveland shot 21 free throws in the first half, while Washington attempted just six, and The Truth did what he could to change that dynamic after the break.

Following back-to-back shaky possessions to open the third quarter, Paul took matters into his own hands. No. 34 hit a mid-range jumper, then less than a minute later drew the third foul on Love. Moments later, he drew another foul, this one on James, then drew a second on James, this time from beyond the arc, another minute later.

By the time he checked out late in the third, he had drawn six fouls, all against Cleveland’s big three of James, Love and Kyrie Irving. He tallied 11 points and went 7-of-10 from the free-throw line, but the rest of his team combined for just 10 points, and weren’t able to cut down the Cavs’ lead.

Washington Wizards v Cleveland Cavaliers

With James, Love and Irving each with three or more fouls, the Wiz were set up nicely to continue attacking in the fourth. However, the intensity on both offense and defense that led Washington to the heights of the East weren’t there in the fourth.

D.C. drew just three fouls and allowed Cleveland to shoot 60 percent and easily run away with a 113-87 win. Head coach Randy Wittman pointed out the obvious after the game: Cleveland’s defensive intensity and attitude simply wasn’t there, and the offense went away as a result.

“Our defensive pressure the last two games has been gone, for whatever reason,” he said. “We always talk about our defense starting our offense, and the last two games we have two fast-break points, so that kind of tells you right there.”

CLUTCH TRUTH CLOSES WIN New Orleans Pelicans v Washington Wizards

Where the Wizards lacked in the defensive intensity, they brought it and more against the Pelicans.

New Orleans shot just 37 percent, didn’t hold a lead larger than one point and scored just 80 points in the D.C. victory. Afterward, Beal praised the way his team bounced back on the defensive end.

“I think we did a great job of just coming out and having a defensive mindset more than anything,” Beal said. “Our offense still needs to improve moving forward, but in order for us to pull out games like this, you have to do it on the defensive end.”

“Both of these teams came in having lost our last two games, and we knew it was going to be a grimy game. And it definitely was, especially in the first half, it was out of control a little bit. I think we did a great job just staying with it, staying the course and pulling out a great win.”

The Wiz had a tough time contending with early MVP candidate Anthony Davis, who tallied 30 points and 13 rebounds, but they limited the pieces around him. Just two other Pelicans hit double figures scoring, and the Wiz snapped their two-game losing streak.

It was a cold offensive start for No. 34, who finished the first half with just two points and without a field goal make. However, while his shot wasn’t there, he found ways to help out on the defensive end.

The Pelicans scored just 18 points in each quarter and shot just 34.1 percent in the first half. Meanwhile, Marcin Gortat led the way with 12 points offensively, and the Wiz took a 40-36 lead into the break.

In the third, Gortat’s big night continued with 10 more points, while Paul added a trifecta off a Wall feed to the cause. Washington shot 66.7 percent from the floor to extend its lead to eight points going to the fourth.

However, midway through the final frame, NOLA made its run. Anderson started it with a deep 30-foot triple, kicking off a 13-2 run. Davis capped that spurt with a big dunk to give the Pelicans a 77-76 lead and send The Truth into action.

In response, Paul went on a personal 5-0 run. It started with Wall running in transition and finding Paul trailing at the top of the key. The Truth caught Anderson with one of his textbook pump fakes, drove past him, sidestepped Jrue Holiday’s attempt to take a charge, then laid it up off the glass for a sweet two points to give Washington the lead.

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The very next Wizards possession, Wall again drove to the hoop and found No. 34 waiting at the top of the key. This time, the defense played back so Paul couldn’t drive to the hoop, so the wily veteran spotted up for the straight-on three, which he buried to make it an 81-77 Wizards advantage.

“He hits a big three, he pump fakes the three and gets a driving layup, then he has a block coming down the stretch,” Wittman said of Paul. “That’s what Paul gives us: a calming influence in those situations.”

Immediately after the enormous three, Anderson tried to answer. New Orleans found Anderson, one of the top three-point shooters in the league, open in the corner for an easy three. But all of a sudden, No. 34 came flying from across the court and swatted the attempt by the NOLA sharpshooter.


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That swat seemed to send a surge into the Washington defense. After that New Orleans could hardly get a good look, and the Wiz closed out the three-point win.

As Wittman said afterward, it was the defense, in the end and throughout, that ended Washington’s two-game skid.

“They’re not all going to be pretty,” Wittman said about the win. “From an offensive standpoint, they’re not all going to be pretty, but you’ve got to be able to win some of those. Tonight, we weren’t really stellar offensively but our defense won the game for us.”

NEXT UP

The Wizards (10-5) continue their four-game homestand with a rematch against the division-rival Miami Heat (9-7), who beat Washington in Miami to open the season.

Paul scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting and added six rebounds, five assists and two steals in the first game against Miami, which was Paul’s Wizards debut. The Truth will likely be matched up with Luol Deng again. In the first game, Paul held the Heat forward to just 12 points.

The game starts at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast locally on Comcast Sports Net.

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