After helping cause an upset over the Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce claimed to be winning the off-court battle with opposing coach Masai Ujiri.
The Wizards were 93-86 overtime winners in game one of their series with the Raptors, with Pierce scoring five of his 20 points in the additional period.
In the lead-up to Saturday's best-of-seven series opener, Pierce claimed Toronto lack the 'it' factor - and after taking home advantage off the fourth seeds, the former Brooklyn Nets man claimed he had the mental edge on Ujiri.
In pre-match, Ujiri swore while addressing Pierce's comments to fans outside the arena - as he did last season prior to their series with the Nets.
"Typical Ujiri," replied Pierce, when told of Ujiri's pre-match antics.
"You heard what he said last year when I was in Brooklyn. I couldn't really care less.
"I think I can play the psychological war a little bit better than him."
And he can play the game on-court too, as Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.
"He was really big. I thought the three he hit to start the overtime was big [for] momentum," Wittman said.
Pierce is not shying away from his role as villain this series.
"You've just got to embrace it," Pierce said.
"It's not that I'm a bad guy. Everybody knows I'm a good guy, I mean off the court.
"That's just the role you portray to media on the court, on the road. Everybody is booing you, no one likes you.
"I embrace it. It fuels me, truthfully."