Joe Johnson’s crossover drops Paul Pierce nearly to his knees in Nets win over Celtics (VIDEO)

Yes, Rajon Rondo, Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace all got tossed from Wednesday night's game between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets for their roles in a late second-quarter skirmish that spilled into the TD Garden's stands. But if you wanted to see some real on-court violence, you needed to stick around until about the 8:15 mark of the final frame, because that's when Nets guard Joe Johnson put something evil on Celtics defender Paul Pierce. (In this case, we use the term "defender" loosely.)

Behold:

Yeesh. Through the legs, behind the back, step to the right, super-low cross back to the left, a couple of E. Honda dribbles out in front, and then exit, stage right. I guess all those holiday-carol-themed dribbling exercises have really helped Joe tighten up his handle.

[Related: Kris Humphries tweets postfight photo of cuts, asks for tetanus shot]

Normally, we say that what makes a play like this a highlight is the offensive player actually making the jumper, which Johnson did, for two of his game-high 18 points in the Nets' 95-83 road win. Really, though, this would've been nearly as epic even if the J came up short, because Johnson's shake just about left Pierce on all fours:

Oh, well. It could be worse, Truth. You could have been put square on your back for the second time in four days. It's like KG always says when he comes into work smiling and whistling: Always look on the bright side of life.

If the clip above isn't rocking for you, please feel free to check out Johnson's shakedown elsewhere, thanks to our friends at the National Basketball Association.

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