Paul Pierce was momentarily speechless, as if to say, "Larry Brown did whaaaaat?"
This is what Brown did during Game 3 of the playoff series between the Boston Celtics and the 76ers:

When a double technical foul was called against the Celtics' Pierce and the Sixers' Allen Iverson, and some trash-talking between Pierce and the Sixers' Aaron McKie followed, it appeared Pierce could get a second technical, which would mean ejection.

But as referees Ken Mauer and Joe Crawford sorted out the penalties, Brown walked up to referee Hue Hollins and said, "Hue, don't throw him out." That was the Sixers coach's way of asking the officials to protect the sanctity of the game.

"That's something that's hard for me to really comment on," Pierce last night, before Game 4. "If I was the opposing coach, I'd want one of the opponent's top players out of there.

"But that shows the character coach Brown has. He comes from Kansas [where he coached the Jayhawks to a national championship], so that says a lot. There's a lot of tradition there.

"But I was surprised when I heard about it. [Reporters] told me today. There was no real reason for me to get kicked out. I didn't know I had the first technical, but Allen and I both got excited and we both got one."

Pierce was surprised at Brown's action. Jeff Van Gundy, here as a Turner Broadcasting analyst, was impressed.

"I admire that," said Van Gundy, the former New York Knicks coach. "That goes right along with how much Larry cares about the game, not just about his team."