How Paul Pierce, a born Laker, grew up to be a Celtic

His Lakers.

Paul Pierce grew up in the shade of the Forum, the shadow of Magic Johnson and the era of Showtime.

So, first through a tunnel, then through a window, he would slip inside when workers were distracted, sneaking around to see the heroes he had come to know by watching television.

"I was a fan . . . and I was a little kid just doing what kids do," Pierce said. "Sometimes you get into trouble doing stuff, but I think me getting in there was a big influence in my life."

As Pierce returns home today in the midst of his first NBA Finals, he can now enter NBA games through whatever entrance at whatever time he wants. He has evolved into the Celtics centerpiece, a player who encompasses both his team's failed past and bright future.

At times, Pierce has taken over playoff games, punctuated by his 41 points in a Game 7 against the Cleveland Cavaliers that pushed the Celtics into the Eastern Conference finals, and his 15 points in the third quarter in Game 1 of the Finals against the Lakers. At other times, he has taken a side seat to Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen.

It all started with his love of the Lakers, his hatred for the Celtics.

"That was the beginning for me, watching the Lakers and Celtics battle it out in the Finals," he said. "That was the birth of basketball for me. That's what I pretty much thought about during the '80s. I was a little kid, 6, 7 years old."

"I just remember being at my uncle's house trying to get a seat on the floor just so I could see it. The TV was so small, you just wanted to get a good glimpse of it. I enjoyed it at the time because the Lakers won."

He mimicked Johnson's ballhandling, James Worthy's fastbreak finishes, Byron Scott's pure shooting stroke.

"We always talked about if we ever played in the NBA we would never play for the Celtics," said Sam Turks, a teammate of Pierce at Inglewood High. "We played one on one and used to argue about who would be Magic, who would be [Larry] Bird. It would always end with one of us being Magic and the other would be Worthy or Scott."

Soon after, Pierce found himself at Inglewood High and, oddly enough, wearing the green school colors.

He and a few teammates started a tradition, waking up well before the sun rose and school started, brushing the sleep from their eyes, and piling into his dusty brown Datsun.