“I told him I’m proud of what he’s been able to do for this organization,” Pierce said Sunday, before the Celtics’ 107-102 win over the Clippers. “This city will get behind you as long as you continue to work hard and compete at a high level and soak it all up. There’s no place like this place in the NBA. It’s kind of what we talked about. And I said, I told him, ‘Enjoy it. Enjoy every moment.’ ”

On Saturday night, on the eve of his final game at TD Garden, former Celtics legend Paul Pierce went out to dinner at one of his favorite Boston restaurants, Strega. While there, he ran into point guard Isaiah Thomas , the current Celtic who would like to someday become a franchise legend, too.


Pierce said in an interview with the Globe on Friday that he views Thomas as a championship-caliber player. Thomas has long said he considers praise from peers to be most important, and said he was humbled by these latest words from Pierce.

When Pierce was asked if his brief visit with Thomas on Saturday, and the game here Sunday, serves as a kind of passing of the torch, he said that time already has passed.

“He’s taken it,” Pierce said. “He’s taken the torch, man. The city is proud of him for what he’s doing. You know, I keep up. I’ve been watching him. And especially where he’s come from, I mean, he’s been on like three or four different teams and now he’s finally established himself as an NBA MVP candidate, All-Star. Just the route that he took: He wasn’t projected to really do much in the NBA as a small guy, and so he’s taken a different route than a lot of us, and he definitely could carry the torch in his time here.”


After Pierce finished his postgame news conference Sunday, he passed Thomas in the bowels of the TD Garden. They stopped and shook hands.

“Keep holding it down,” Pierce said.

“You already know,” Thomas responded.

Garnett unlikely coach

Pierce and Clippers coach Doc Rivers have been reunited in Los Angeles with former Celtics great Kevin Garnett, who is now working as a team consultant, in addition to his weekly in-studio segments on TNT’s NBA broadcasts.

Despite Garnett’s role working with the Clippers big men, Rivers, for one, does not envision him making the transition to coaching.

“He’s so intense. I don’t think he could do it,” Rivers said. “ ‘No’ would be the answer. What he’s doing is perfect because he has a lot to teach and he’s a good teacher.”

Pierce said he and Garnett go out to dinner about once a week, and that Garnett, who retired prior to this season, is in a good place.

“He’s enjoying life,” Pierce said. “He’s happy with his decision to retire and he’s enjoying the fruits of all his labor, and he said he’s having the time of his life.”

Bradley out again

Celtics guard Avery Bradley was sidelined for the 14th time in 15 games Sunday due to lingering soreness from an Achilles’ strain. Coach Brad Stevens said that Bradley has continued to make progress and was scheduled to meet with a team doctor Sunday. He said the plan is for Bradley to join the Celtics on their upcoming four-game road trip.


That hurt

With 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter Sunday, Celtics forwards Jaylen Brown and Jonas Jerebko collided, with Brown’s shoulder connecting with Jerebko’s nose. Jerebko immediately dropped to the floor in pain before rushing to the locker room with a towel over his face. Stevens said Jerebko was undergoing examinations to see if he has a broken nose.

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.