But the wicketkeeper/batsman showed courage under fire at the MCG by hitting 65 to guide the visitors to an upset victory in their knockout semi-final with the Stars.
Not bad for "a clown" with "overgrown gloves".
McGuire had led the witch hunt after Paine suggested in a radio interview the Stars operated under a different salary cap than other teams.
Asked about Warne's sledge, a measured Paine said: "That's terrific. Good on him."
But the former Test gloveman admitted he was shocked by the pre-match outcry.
"I completely forgot about the comments that I'd made. They were 10 days ago. To get here and wake up that morning and see what had gone on was certainly different," Paine said.
"I tried to get it over as quickly as possible so we could concentrate on tonight."
Set at the crease, opener Paine was run out attempting a second run in the 17th over when the Hurricanes were already on the brink of victory.
"I would have liked to have batted right through the innings – that would have been the icing on the cake," he said.
"But it wasn't to be. A bit of lazy running cost me."
Unbeaten in eight games in the home-and-away season, the Stars posted an inferior total of 8-141.
The same batting line up that dominated all season appeared to freeze under the pressure of a knockout match, with their trademark aggression almost nonexistent.
"I was surprised they didn't go as hard as they did in every other game," Paine said.
"We bowled well, yes. But I was expecting them to come at us a lot harder. When they did go, we bowled well and stayed on top of them.
"We held onto a couple of good catches and in the pressure of a final that can happen."
Hobart made a brave call to drop experienced international spinner Xavier Doherty, and considering young leggie Cameron Boyce (3-11) was named man of the match, the former skipper will struggle to win selection in the final.
"He was obviously very disappointed as anyone would have been," Paine said.
"I think we have made two tough calls in the past two games that have made a huge difference in the results. Leaving (Ben) Hilfenhaus out and playing Evan Gulbis against Brisbane when we thought we needed the extra batting (worked well)."
'Clown' Tim Paine eats up the pressure for the Hurricanes
