Paul Pierce of the Clippers drives around Jabari Parker of the Milwaukee Bucks during a game Dec. 16 at Staples Center/AP photo by Danny Moloshok

Paul Pierce of the Clippers is 38, and just concluded his 18th NBA regular season. Now he’s about to begin his 13th post-season, and that still thrills him.

“It’s always an exciting time of the year come playoff time because this is what you play for, right here, a chance to win a championship,” said Pierce, who, along with current Clippers coach Doc Rivers won a title in 2008 with the Boston Celtics. “You get through the 82-(game) grind, which is tough on a lot of us. Guys go through injuries and miss games and stuff, but it’s good right now that we’re probably as healthy as we’ve been all year long for a chance to chase what we’ve been talking about all year long – winning a championship.”

The fourth-seeded Clippers play host to No. 5 Portland on Sunday at 7:30 p.m at Staples Center in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference series.