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Pierce experienced stiffness on the right side of his lower back after being fouled hard on a lay-in attempt in the first quarter of the Celtics 96-77 victory over the Hawks at TD Banknorth Garden.
The All-Star forward practiced without incident yesterday after receiving a massage and jogging on the treadmill. He said he is pretty much 100 percent.
Im feeling great, said Pierce. [Thursday] I was feeling sore. Today, I feel a lot better. I went through a whole practice with no complications. Ill be ready to go 100 percent.
Despite the injury, Pierce finished Game 2 with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Pierce stayed off his feet and received a massage Thursday.
Its nothing Im worried about, said Pierce of the hard foul. Its playoff basketball. Im just getting ready for Game 3.
Said coach Doc Rivers, Hes fine. I didnt ask. No [trainer] came up to me and said anything, so thats 100 percent.
Task at hand
Rivers said the subject of practice was staying focused on the Hawks after two lopsided wins. He added that his players are very aware that the Cavaliers, Magic, and Jazz all lost Game 3 Thursday after winning the first two games.
Ive seen this team all year long and the practice was one of our better practices, Pierce said. We had great focus. It felt like one of those practices where youre going into Game 1. Im excited that the team isnt resting on our laurels.
Even though we are up, 2-0, weve still got to get a win down in Atlanta, which is going to be tough. Their crowd is going to be into it. They are going to be more confident in their home arena. This team is ready, were ready.
A Celtics official said that if Boston advances to the second round, the earliest Game 1 against Cleveland or Washington would be is a week from today. If the Celtics sweep the Hawks they will get a long layoff, since Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is Monday in Atlanta. But Rivers says his team is focused on tonight and not a potential sweep.
We got Atlanta, Rivers said. What Cleveland and Washington do, we could care less if they go five, six, seven [games]. We just focus on one thing. We dont look ahead. We focus on Atlanta, really, and thats all we think about.
Said Pierce, We want to try to take care of business shanghai escort on the road, though. Thats just pretty much the focus going into Game 3.
Support system
There were still tickets available for Game 3. Even so, Hawks forward Josh Smith said after practice in Atlanta that he is hoping for a similar loud crowd tonight, this time pro-Hawks, to the ones in Boston.
We need our fans like Boston needed their fans, he said. The intensity [Boston] fans brought was crazy. We need that same kind of support.
On playing postseason games in Atlanta, Rivers, a former Hawk, wow gold said, If it was like when we played the Celtics, I expect a lot of Celtics fans there because thats how it was.
At the ready
Guard Tony Allen played sparingly in Games 1 and 2, but is keeping a positive attitude. Im still cheering on the sideline, passing out water, [waving] my towel, clapping hands, and being ready for when my time is called, he said . . . Atlanta coach Mike Woodson bought 45 tickets for tonights game for the Philips Arena cleaning shanghai massage staff.
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