After watching his Washington Wizards give up 99 points or more in three straight games and suffer back-to-back losses, Paul Pierce was imploring for a defensive improvement—and on Christmas day at Madison Square Garden, he got exactly what he asked for.

The Wizards handled the New York Knicks, 102-91, ended their two-game skid and remained in third place in the Eastern Conference. After a physical battle, Paul was happy with the way the Wiz responded to their brief slump.

“We wanted to bounce back and play the way we know we’re capable of playing,” The Truth said. “I thought we really set the tone early with our defense, we got out in transition, we rebounded the ball, we did a lot of things we talked about in practice yesterday. Great way to respond on the road coming off two straight losses.”

Washington Wizards v New York Knicks

Paul was quiet offensively, putting up just three points to go with four rebounds and two assists, content to allow the dynamic young backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal dominate this game. The savvy veteran certainly played his fair role in the win however, knocking down a three-pointer early to help jump-start the Wizards. He also helped lock down Knicks star Carmelo Anthony with some suffocating defense throughout the game.

Washington Wizards v New York Knicks

After Melo put up 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting in the first half, The Truth locked in and held him to just two points on 1-of-5 shooting with three turnovers in the third quarter. The key to Paul’s defense was something he has picked up in almost 17 years of playing in the Eastern Conference: toughness and grit.

Additionally, Washington welcomed Nene Hilario back into the starting lineup, and for the first time all year, it had its starting five of John Wall, Bradley Beal, The Truth, Nene and Marcin Gortat all on the floor together.

“This is the first time we’ve had our projected lineup from the start of the year all step on the court as a starting unit,” Paul said. “Nene brings that experience, that physicality to the starting front line. We’re able to bring Kris (Humphries) off the bench with his energy and the way he plays and rebounds. Finally after (27) games, we’re into a normal rotation that we wanted to be in the beginning of the year.”

That bruising group shot 51.2 percent from the floor and outscored New York 50-30 in the paint. Even despite a big first half from Anthony, the Wiz used a combined 31 points from Beal, Wall and Kris Humphries to take a commanding 60-44 lead into the half.

The Knicks shaved two points off that deficit behind a combined 17 points from Jose Calderon and Tim Hardaway Jr. in the third, setting the tone for a fiery fourth quarter.

Paul is no stranger to wild affairs at MSG. In one of the biggest shots of his career just over four years ago at The Garden against the Pre-Melo Knicks, The Truth used his trademark stepback jumper to sink New York in the waning seconds.

Midway through the fourth quarter, with the Wizards up by 11, Wall brought the ball down court with his typical haste and aggression, only to be met by a high, hard foul from Knicks forward Quincy Acy. Wall didn’t take kindly to the play and responded by shoving Acy as he got to his feet. Acy — who has about three inches and 45 pounds on Wall — then seemed to throw a punch at the Washington point guard.

The surrounding Wizards players immediately jumped in to break up the fight and protect their point guard, while Knicks players all casually dispersed.

“It’s a physical game. Like we always say,” Paul said Thursday night, “if you don’t like physicality, go play golf.”

As Paul often explains, Wall is the heart of the Wizards squad, making it an easy decision for the team to jump to his defense. The Washington point guard was charged with a technical foul, while Acy was given a flagrant two and was ejected.

Wall made both free throws, and Rasual Butler canned a three on the ensuing Wizards possession, giving them a 15-point lead. From there, the Wizards cruised as their guard duo combined for 41 points.

“We go as John goes and Bradley goes,” The Truth told reporters without hesitation. “We follow their lead on the court. When those guys are playing at that pace and shooting the ball well, being aggressive, it makes things easier on the rest of us.”

NEXT UP

Paul and the Wizards (20-8) welcome back the Boston Celtics to Verizon Center for the third and final matchup between the teams. They split a home-and-home series earlier this month, with each team successfully defending its home court.

The big difference in this game will be the makeup of Boston’s roster, following a blockbuster deal that sent star point guard Rajon Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks.

Paul will have the most important matchup of the game as he will be guarding former Georgetown Hoya Jeff Green. Green, who is quite used to playing in the Verizon Center and still has plenty of loyal fans in the area, usually puts up big numbers when playing in D.C.

In the second matchup between these teams this year, Green dropped 28 points in front of the Verizon Center crowd. Last year, Green put up 39 points and nine rebounds in D.C. with Washington’s best perimeter defender, Trevor Ariza, on him all game.

The Truth will hope to have better luck when the Wiz and the C’s tipoff at 7 p.m. EST Saturday. The game will be broadcast on CSN.

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