While Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics snapped their three-game losing streak with a 99-88 win over the Washington Wizards Monday night, it came with a minor setback for the Truth. 

Paul suffered a mid-mild ankle sprain that limited his playing time in the game and left him questionable for the next.

Paul and the Celtics got a much-needed win on Monday night (Getty Images).

Diving for a loose ball against the Wizards’ Caron Butler in the first quarter, the two players got tangled up. Head coach Doc Rivers played it safe, and sat No. 34 out for part of the first quarter and all of the fourth.

The Truth finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, in 28 minutes of play.

As the Boston Globe reported:

[Pierce] initially came out of the game after colliding with Butler with 2:01 left in the first quarter, bruising his left foot. They banged into each other again as time was about to expire in the first half, with Pierce stepping on Butler’s foot and the players knocking knees.

“I thought I was playing football for a minute,” Pierce said.

Pierce played 10 minutes in the third quarter, but looking at how Pierce was running and knowing he had missed five games with a knee infection, and with Kevin Garnett recently returning from a hyperextended knee, Rivers was cautious.

“I just wasn’t going to take the chance,” Rivers said. “I shouldn’t have even played him in the second half, in my opinion. I think I messed that one up.

“I just didn’t like the way he was moving. He wasn’t moving right and when you ask him if he’s all right he says, ‘I’m just going to go.’ I know Paul well enough now, that’s not the answer that I was looking for.

Pierce shrugged off his latest ailment.

“I felt good, but I did have pain in the foot,” he said. “I’ll be all right.”

The Captain shrugged off the notion that his injury would keep him out long-term, however. He told ESPN.com:

“I’ll get some X-rays tomorrow, but I think it’s not going to be too bad,” Pierce told reporters after the game, adding that he thought it was a sprain. “I would have known by now [if it was broken]. I think I’ll be all right.”

NEXT UP
The Boston Celtics host the Miami Heat on Wednesday at the TD Banknorth Garden. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST. The contest can be seen on CSNHD or ESPN. Fans can also tune in to WEEI to listen to the game. Boston won the previous two meetings this season.

RELATED STORIES
Ankle sprain sends Pierce to bench (Boston Globe, Feb. 2, 2010)
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2010/02/02/ankl...
Pierce hurts foot in Celts’ game (ESPN.com, Feb. 2, 2010)
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/news/story?id=4878657
The Three-Pointer: Team effort snaps skid (WEEI.com, Feb. 2, 2010)
http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/basketball/celtics/jessica-camerato/20...
 

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