Paul Pierce missed Tuesday night's game with the New York Knicks, but it wasn't just a physical ailment that sidelined No. 34.

It was the flu.

Paul has also been nursing a sprained right thumb that has hindered his shooting ability and Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers told ESPN that he had planned on giving The Truth the night off anyway. But after Paul incurred flu-like symptoms on Monday, Rivers thought it best that he not even show up at the TD Garden on Tuesday.

"He just hurt his hand. We'll go one day at a time," Rivers said before Tuesday's 110-106 win. "He's not even in the building tonight -- he's got the flu, too. He wouldn't have played with the hand injury, but with the flu, we felt it was good to stay at home."

Paul had talked about resting the thumb on Monday before the flu symptoms surfaced, as he told ESPN:

"It's a little banged up right now, so it's something I'm going to think about -- taking a few days off and letting it heal," said Pierce. "It's really affecting my game and my shot over the last few days. It's definitely something I'll consider with coach [Rivers on Tuesday] morning -- getting it a few days off to rest it."

No. 34 noted that he had no quick cure for the ailment other than the usual:

"Nothing special [for treatment], just rest and ice over the last few days," said Pierce. "Once the swelling goes down, and I get some mobility in it, I'll be ready.

"It's getting better, but the swelling is still there. It's affecting my shooting and catching the ball. I think after a few days we'll just take it day to day."

The arrival of trade acquisition Nate Robinson helped lessen the blow against the Knicks by providing the Celtics with depth and energy. Robinson played 16 minutes against his former team on Tuesday.

"Nate can come in with energy, give us a scoring punch," said Pierce. "He can handle the ball and push the ball, put pressure on the opposing defense. That's something we need with our second unit."

Rivers said he is comfortable with his team while giving Paul a rest in the short term. It's more important that the Celts have The Truth ready in the long term as they inch closer to the playoffs.

"We can win without him. We just can't win a long time without him," Rivers said. "We need him back and we need him healthy. He's our best offensive player. He creates stuff for everyone, even when he's not scoring. His presence on the floor draws attention. We need him back and we need him back healthy.

"The way we did it didn't work out, so we have to get him healthy."

NEXT UP
The Celtics take on their Eastern Conference nemesis the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday at TD Garden. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST and the game can be seen on TNT.

RELATED STORIES
Paul Pierce out with bad thumb, flu (ESPN.com, February 23, 2010)
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/news/story?id=4939880
Paul Pierce considering time off for thumb (ESPN.com, February 22, 2010)
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/news/story?id=4937601

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