WASHINGTON –- Paul Pierce emerged out of the Washington Wizards’ trainer’s room late Friday night and let out, "Man, I’m tired.”

A few minutes later, he walked ever so gingerly into the interview room before sitting down and sighing as if the short walk from the locker room sapped him of his remaining energy.

Pierce might have been walking and sounding like 900-year-old Yoda, but don’t be fooled. Moments before, Pierce was in full assassin mode as he basically ended the Toronto Raptors’ season for all intents and purposes.

Pierce delivered yet another vintage “Truth” postseason performance, making all three of his 3-point attempts and burying the Raptors with 11 fourth-quarter points in just under seven minutes to hand Washington a commanding 3-0 lead with a 106-99 victory.

Pierce, who finished with 18 points, pushed the Raptors to the brink of elimination by showing them, along with his young Wizards teammates, what “It” exactly is.

Entering the playoffs, Pierce ruffled the Raptors organization by telling ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan that he didn't fear Toronto because the Raptors didn't have “It.”

The Raptors said they didn't know what Pierce meant by “It.” They should know by now.

“It” is drilling a 3-pointer when your team is clinging to a one-point lead with 6:39 left against a desperate team looking for any life in this series.

“It” is delivering yet another back-breaking trey to push your team up 98-90 with 1:58 left.

And “It” is sticking the final dagger into the Raptors with another trey with 16.9 seconds to go after Toronto somehow clawed back to within three.

Pierce sent D.C. into a frenzy. After his second 3-pointer, Pierce walked over to the baseline near the Washington bench as Toronto called for time. The vet stood and lifted his arms high into the air and soaked in the adoring crowd like Patrick Ewing did so many years ago while standing up on the scorer’s table in a moment that stands out in Knicks lore.

Last season, after hitting several big shots to help Brooklyn steal Game 1 in Toronto, Pierce screamed: “That’s why they brought me here!”

Consider this the sequel.

“I can’t even tell you one thing I said tonight, truthfully,” Pierce said. “I am just living in the moment.”

So few ever get to experience playoff moments like Pierce has. He hit so many big shots as a Celtic. He came up clutch for Brooklyn last postseason, coming up with pressure-packed shots and a series-clinching block to win Game 7 in Toronto.

And now here he is doing it again to Toronto in a Wizards uniform. He even has his pet project, Otto Porter, drilling 3-pointers with confidence as he did twice in the last 4:23 of the game.

“That's why we brought him here,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said, echoing the same thing John Wall said afterward. “[Pierce is] not scared of the moment."

“He's proven that he can [still] play. ... He's a complete player."

The Brooklyn Nets, who opted not to re-sign Pierce in the offseason, sure could use the vet now in their series against the Hawks. Brooklyn's loss is Washington's gain. And it feels like Pierce can just keep doing this for many years to come.

After all, he told us last year after scoring nine straight points in the final three minutes of Game 1 for Brooklyn that his clutch play was "just in the DNA."

"Everybody don't have it. Everybody is not born with it," Pierce said then. "Can't buy it at Costco or Walgreens. It's in the DNA."

But Pierce isn’t sure how much longer he can keep playing. He knows his time is nearing an end. And perhaps that is why he stood at the baseline staring at the adoring Washington crowd after one his monster 3s.

“I know I see the light at the end of the tunnel," Pierce said. "So that appreciation goes up. ... At this point in my career, I’m savoring these moments because I don’t know how many more of these moments I am going to have.”

Unfortunately for Toronto, this is the second straight year that they have to experience some of Pierce’s greatest playoff hits. Toronto’s young core of Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas will have their season end prematurely again thanks to Pierce, who has basically delivered a tutorial to them on how to win a playoff series –- something Washington’s Wall, Bradley Beal and Porter will benefit greatly from in this round and the next.

Afterward, Pierce was asked if he can finally admit that the “It” he talked about is really him.

“I am going to leave 'It' where it was,” Pierce said with a smile. “If you guys believe that, that’s what it is. I am going to leave ‘It’ for you guys to try to explain it and think about it and go over this small, little, two-letter word for the rest of the series.”

Thanks to Pierce, Toronto and Masai Ujiri will likely be uttering four-letter words again for another whole summer.