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WATCH: NBA Star Hits Game-Winning Shot In Order To Keep Dinner Reservation

Paul Pierce hit a long jumper with 8 seconds left to help the Boston Celtics beat the New York Knicks 104-101 Wednesday night in an NBA preseason game. What drove Pierce to take the game into his hands and hit the clutch shot? A dinner reservation.

Pierce had plans for a big birthday dinner, and going into overtime with the Knicks would have put those in serious jeopardy. And in a preseason game, overtime is torture for players, coaches and fans alike. For Pierce, that torture would have been exacerbated by the fact that the extra period would have delayed him from his birthday plans. From ESPN Boston:

“So, basically, I’ve got an 11 o’clock reservation that I had to make,” said Pierce, who joked that he’d answer only two questions before staying longer. “I didn’t want to cancel because it’s my birthday. I was trying to get this over with.”

The birthday boy finished with an impressive 20 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

October 13th is also Boston coach Doc Rivers‘ birthday, and he joked last week that he would foul an opposing player intentionally to avoid overtime in a preseason game. He probably wanted to get the heck out of MSG too, so Pierce’s heroics may not have even been necessary if Rivers employed the “Hack and Exit” strategy.

And who knows when Pierce and Rivers will get the chance to dine in Manhattan again? It’s not like they’ll be back here for a playoff series or anything.