Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics return home tonight for a matchup with the Golden State Warriors after a rough weekend on the road.

Paul sprained his left knee in a game against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday and played with limited success on Saturday. The injury hampered his ability to play at an optimum level, but he managed to recover and participate in limited practice this week.

It was initially believed that No. 34 would rest his knee Saturday in preparation for Wednesday's game, but he was in the starting line-up against the Pacers on Saturday night as ESPN.com reports:

"Rivers told reporters Monday that Pierce talked him into letting him play on Saturday and that he would force Pierce to rest during practice on both Monday and Tuesday."

Monday's practice brought reports of the uncertainty around Paul's status for game day, but after only one day of resting his tender knee, Paul quickly dispelled the concerns. As the Boston Globe reports, The Truth felt ready to get on the hardwood for a workout session yesterday:

"Celtics captain Paul Pierce practiced at full speed this afternoon and is expected to be in the starting lineup against the Golden State Warriors tomorrow night.

"I got a good response the last couple days of rest," Pierce said. "I felt good about it and it went smooth. I went the whole practice and I felt really good about it. It was a slight sprain of the knee but I'm a fast healer and I feel good.

"I'm a little older so I'm being smarter about things. If I didn't feel I could go out there I wouldn't have done it, but I felt really good today, my body responded well. Maybe I shouldn't have played because the knee was real tender and I had to play with a big wrap on it and it kind of limited me last Saturday. Sometimes rest is good, especially in a long season. But it might be what I did the last couple days, I rested it."

No. 34's promising performance at practice was cause for him and his coach both to give personal thumbs up for Wednesday matchup. The Associated Press reports:

"Rivers and Pierce both say they expect him to be available against Golden State on Wednesday."

One thing for certain is that the Cs need their Captain to be healthy in order to lead them to victory. With the Captain on the mend, Boston looks to snap their two-game losing streak and advance Boston to 9-3 when they take on the Warriors.

SEEKING REVENGE
During the 2008-2009 season, Celts and Warriors met twice and split their series.

The first meeting was at the Garden in November of 2008. It was a tight contest as Boston was the defending NBA champions with the strongest defense in the league going head to head with a Golden State team that featured one of the league's highest scoring offenses. The Warriors had also beaten the Celtics 12 of  their last 15 meetings in Boston.

Paul was determined to change the tide and posted 21 points. The Truth and the rest of the Cs starting lineup managed to keep a few points ahead of Golden State guards Corey Maggette and Stephen Jackson, who proved to be true warriors. Despite, the lead changing hands several times, Boston edged ahead in the end to beat Golden State 119 - 111. NBA.com reports:

"We won the game, and we'll take it, but it's a good lesson for us,'' Boston coach Doc Rivers said.

Unfortunately, the lesson didn't sink in. The Celtics were on a winning streak of 19 consecutive games, a franchise record, when they battled the Warriors again a month later in San Francisco.

The Truth posted 21 points and five assists, but the Cs defense wasn't strong enough to contain Jackson and the Warriors. Boston gave up a 14-point halftime lead and eventually lost the 99-89.

That loss, as well as their two this past weekend, should resonate with the Celtics as they meet the Warriors on Wednesday night in the Garden at 7:30 pm. It airs locally on CSNHD/WEEI.

RELATED ARTICLES
Pierce, who hurt knee, returns to Celtics practice (AP, Nov 17, 2009) http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gmaDwyyu42mbZH5-R51_Sq...
Pierce limited in practice due to knee sprain (ESPN, Nov. 17, 2009)
http://espn.go.com/boston/columns/celtics/blog/_/post/4663179/name/forsberg
Pierce goes full speed (The Boston Globe, Nov. 17, 2009)
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2009...
Rondo leads way in comeback win over Warriors (NBA.com, Nov. 26, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20081126/GSWBOS/recap.html
Celtics drop consecutive games for first time (AP, Dec 27 2008)
http://www.nba.com/games/20081126/GSWBOS/recap.html

• Add new comment