Former Boston Celtics great Paul Pierce was so confident in his team before Game 2 against the New York Knicks, he said he would walk to work barefoot “in my robe” if they lost a second straight game in the second-round series.
“If the Celtics lose Game 2 at home, I promise you, I am walking here tomorrow,” he declared on an FS1 show Wednesday. “I guarantee this one. Put the house on this game.”
That didn’t turn out so great. The Celtics blew a 20-point lead in Game 2, as they did in Game 1, and lost 91-90.
Pierce appeared to honor his vow Thursday, saying he set out before the sun rose for what he said was a 20.2-mile commute to work in the Los Angeles area. He posted updates on Instagram Live. Pierce made the wise choice of not walking barefoot, but bathrobed? Yes.
“All right, time for me to get to steppin’,” he said after 5 a.m. Pacific time, calling himself a “man of my word.”
“I cant believe the Celtics got me out here like this, dog,” he said in a later update. “I’m really walking out here like this.”
A little before 9 a.m., Pierce posted another Live of a couple hecklers on the sidewalk.
“You lost that bet, huh?” one of them said.
Pierce took it all in stride, having some fun with them. He said he was about halfway at that point.
He posted another video saying he arrived to work at about 1 p.m.