We hear quite a bit about how well Kobe Bryant and LeBron James play at Madison Square Garden, the so-called Mecca of basketball. But Sunday's action reminded us that Paul Pierce belongs in that discussion, too.Pierce scored 33 points in Boston's overtime win against the Knicks Sunday. It was the sixth career 30-point game at MSG for the longtime Celtics, matching Kobe, Dirk Nowitzki and Allen Iverson for the lead among active (or very recently active, in A.I.'s case) players. LeBron has five 30-point games at the Garden.
Of course, Pierce has been around quite a bit longer than LeBron, and as an Eastern Conference player he plays at MSG twice as frequently as Bryant and Nowitzki. But the mark is still impressive. (In case you're wondering, Michael Jordan holds the modern era record for 30-point games at MSG as a visitor, with at least 17. Basketball-Reference only has a game-by-game box score data going back to 1986-87.) Pierce was the fourth visitor to hit 30 at the Garden this season, following James, Andre Iguodala and Chris Paul.
