Paul Pierce

Celtics star Pierce to miss two to three weeks with left foot injury

Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce has an injury in his left foot that will keep him out for two to three weeks.

Pierce has a stress reaction _ a swelling of the bone and the soft tissue surrounding it, team spokesman Jeff Twiss said Thursday. Pierce will miss Friday night's game against Philadelphia and the five-game road trip that starts Tuesday in Denver.

``I'm not sure if he's going to accompany the team, but he will not play on the road trip,'' Twiss said.

Pierce said his foot started hurting after Saturday's game in Charlotte. He felt pain again after Wednesday night's 96-95 loss to Golden State in which he scored 27 points and had an MRI on Thursday morning.

The Celtics are already without guard Wally Szczerbiak, who has a sprained right ankle and could return for the road trip. Forward Brian Scalabrine missed the Warriors game with the flu.

Paul Pierce puts up 35 points to push Celtics past Bobcats 106 100

The Boston Celtics went to their go-to guy. The Charlotte Bobcats, as usual, had no one turn to.

Paul Pierce scored 35 points and hit the clinching jumper in the final minute to lead the Celtics to their fifth straight win, 106-100 over the Bobcats on Saturday night.

Pierce hit the go-ahead free throws with 2:06 left and a fadeaway 17-footer with 39 seconds remaining, part of a 10-0 run to give the Celtics a 102-97 lead.

Al Jefferson added 22 points for the Celtics, who won despite losing Wally Szczerbiak to a sprained ankle in the third quarter. It's Boston's longest winning streak since it won seven straight in March 2005.

``I've always felt we were right there. We believed it,'' said Pierce, who scored 30 or more points for the third time in four games. ``Things that were beating us up before _ lack of defence, lack of execution _ is what's winning it for us now. We're solving those problems.''

Gerald Wallace scored 31 points and Emeka Okafor added 12 points, 19 rebounds and tied his own team record with eight blocks for the Bobcats, who failed again to win consecutive games for the first time this season.

It was the same old problem for the Bobcats, who couldn't find a player to make a big shot down the stretch. Charlotte went more than three minutes without scoring after building a 97-92 lead with 3:48 left. Wallace and Adam Morrison had turnovers on back-to-back possessions in the drought.

``We get turnovers on our possessions and they get free throws or easy baskets on their possessions,'' said Wallace, who hadn't scored more than 21 points in an injury-plagued season. ``I wish I had taken that lost shot (instead of his bad pass). I take full responsibility.''

Both teams lost key reserves to sprained ankles.

Szczerbiak had to be helped to the locker room late in the third quarter after he injured his ankle while committing a foul.

``It hurts more than the last one,'' said Szczerbiak, who missed five games with a sprained left ankle.

Celtics coach Glenn `Doc' Rivers said Szczerbiak could be out until after the team's long road trip near the end of the month.

``If I were a betting man, I'd say we wouldn't have him on the West Coast trip,'' Rivers said.

Charlotte's Sean May, who scored a career-high 32 points in the Bobcats' win over Orlando on Thursday, came down awkwardly on the back of Okafor's foot during a battle for a defensive rebound early in the second quarter. He immediately hobbled to the locker room and did not return.

``The good thing about it was as soon as it happened I got all my weight off of it,'' said May, who was on crutches as he left the arena. ``That probably saved me a few weeks right there. It got really swollen.''

The Bobcats, who also played without starting point guard Brevin Knight (strained groin), were outscored 25-7 immediately after May left to close the quarter as the Celtics took a 10-point halftime lead.

Pierce tipped in a miss to start the third quarter to give Boston a 62-50 lead.

The Bobcats responded with a 16-3 run as Wallace scored six points and Okafor blocked three shots.

Charlotte built an 84-78 lead early in the fourth quarter, but unlike last month when coach Doc Rivers ripped his team in a loss in Charlotte, the Celtics recovered.

Boston, which won its fourth straight road game, is the only team in the league with a winning road record (6-5) and a losing home mark (4-8).

``Of all the games, this is the one I'm most proud of,'' Rivers said. ``Our guys sucked it up and got it done.''

Notes: Rivers said he wouldn't be surprised if it's another two to three weeks before Philadelphia trades Allen Iverson. ``It's going to screw up a couple of teams,'' Rivers said of the trade rumours. ... Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff said they'll likely recall rookie C Ryan Hollins from the National Basketball Development League when they play in Dallas on Dec. 26. Hollins, who has missed the past week with a mild ankle sprain, is averaging 12.2 points and 10.4 rebounds for Fort Worth. ... Celtics F Ryan Gomes did not travel with the team due to a strained right calf. He's expected to return for Wednesday's game against Golden State.

Paul Pierce scores 38 points to help Celtics beat Nuggets 119 114

It took Boston Celtics guard Tony Allen two up-and-down seasons to earn a starting position. Now that he's got it, he's playing like he never wants to go back to the bench _ even for a minute.

Paul Pierce scored 38 points and Allen added a career-high 30 points as Boston defeated the Denver Nuggets 119-114 on Friday night for their fourth straight win.

Allen shot 11-of-13 from the field while adding eight rebounds and three steals in 48 minutes. Defensively, he kept Carmelo Anthony from single-handedly winning the game for the Nuggets.

Anthony scored a season-high 42 points for the Nuggets, including 16 in the fourth quarter to keep the game close. But Allen's physical defence tired out Anthony, who missed 6-of-17 free throws.

``Obviously, Tony was phenomenal,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ``In the second quarter, I told our coaches, `Unless Tony asks to come out, he's not coming out.'

``Because I really didn't see anybody else guarding Carmelo.''

Al Jefferson had 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Wally Szczerbiak scored 16 points off the bench for the Celtics (9-13), who moved into a first-place tie with the New Jersey Nets in the lowly Atlantic Division. New Jersey lost to Toronto 90-78 earlier Friday.

The Celtics led by as many as 19 points and never trailed, although Denver turned it into a close game thanks to Anthony, Andre Miller and J.R. Smith.

Miller scored 18 points and Smith had 14 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter for the Nuggets (12-9), who lost their second straight and fell to 1-3 on their five-game trip.

The Nuggets (12-9) lost to Washington 120-91 on Tuesday and conclude the trip in New York on Saturday.

Boston led 70-51 early in the third quarter, but Miller and Anthony combined for 17 third-quarter points to help the Nuggets cut the deficit to 85-74 to start the fourth.

After Jefferson opened the fourth with a layup to extend Boston's lead to 13 points, Anthony scored five straight, sparking an 11-2 run that helped the Nuggets close the gap to 89-85.

The Nuggets got as close as 94-91 on Miller's layup midway through the quarter, but Boston scored seven of the next nine points to pull away.

Allen's steal and breakaway dunk capped the spurt and made it 101-93 with four minutes remaining. Pierce, who added nine assists and eight rebounds, hit a three-pointer two possessions later to make it 106-95.

``I thought we had better flow in the second half, but still dug too big of a hole,'' Nuggets coach George Karl said. ``You can't get behind 15, 18 points on the road.

``It's insane, it's hard to make up that big of a difference.''

Boston improved to 4-2 since Allen moved into the starting lineup six games ago with Szczerbiak out with a left ankle sprain.

Szczerbiak returned for Boston's 101-81 victory Tuesday in Philadelphia, but has come off the bench since. Before the game Friday, Rivers said he planned to keep Allen in the starting lineup because of his defensive presence and because Szczerbiak adds a spark off the bench the Celtics had been missing.

Allen started 34 games as a rookie in 2004-'05, but wasn't able to sustain his success last year. He missed the first 23 games of the season while recovering from off-season knee surgery, and didn't get into a rhythm until late in the season.

After a slow start, Allen has now scored at least 16 points in three of his last five games.

``I think I got a little more strength in my knee now,'' Allen said. ``I'm taking advantage of the opportunity that I was given.''

Allen made his first eight shots, and his 11 first-quarter points helped the Celtics jump out to a 31-17 lead. He kept it going in the second, following Anthony's layup with a baseline dunk and a three-pointer to extend Boston's lead to 36-19.

``(Allen) caught us by surprise,'' said Denver centre Marcus Camby, who had 11 points and seven rebounds. ``He came out with high energy in the first quarter, and once they got that lead we weren't able to catch them.''

Notes: Boston power forward Ryan Gomes sat out after straining his right calf in Tuesday's win over Philadelphia. Rivers said he's unsure how much time Gomes will miss. Brian Scalabrine started in Gomes' place . . . The Celtics snapped a four-game home losing streak . . . . Before the game, Denver coach George Karl said his team has been distracted by Allen Iverson trade rumours. ``I'm not going to deny it,'' Karl said. ``We're human beings, I'm sure some it affects some of our players.'' . . . The Nuggets have been outscored a combined 140-90 in the first quarter during their road trip.

Pierce, Gomes both score 18 points to lead Celtics past 76ers 101 81

The only Answer the Philadelphia 76ers have is on the trading block.

The Sixers still can't find one to their losing streak, dropping their ninth straight game, a 101-81 decision to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

Paul Pierce and Ryan Gomes each scored 18 points, and Tony Allen had 16 points for the Celtics, who won their third straight road game and moved to .500 there with wins at New Jersey and New York. Al Jefferson added 13 rebounds for Boston, which is suddenly making a run at the wretched Atlantic Division lead.

``That's the best part. It was three division wins,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ``I don't care if it's against the best teams or the worst teams.''

Maybe adding someone like Allen (The Answer) Iverson to the roster could put them on top of the worst division in basketball. The Celtics were one of the hot rumoured destinations for Iverson, who was inactive for the fourth straight game while Philadelphia tries to trade the former MVP.

Sure, but Iverson's name on the roster is the only proof he's still with Philadelphia, and that connection is thinner than the paper it's printed on.

Once one of the fiercest rivalries in the NBA, the 76ers-Celtics series has cooled over the last decade. Without Iverson crashing all over the court, the rivalry loses a little more of its appeal.

``The whole feeling of the game was different,'' Pierce said. ``There was not much energy in the building.

``I guess it's time for him to move on. The trade is what he wanted. He wants to be happy.''

Meanwhile, the Sixers are downright miserable. They are sliding toward one of their worst seasons in franchise history. They have lost nine straight for the first time since a 13-game losing streak in 1996-97; lost 13-of-14 overall; and have only two wins since a now long-ago 3-0 start.

Kevin Ollie led the Sixers with 14 points and Andre Iguodala had 12 points.

``It's a challenge for me, and a challenge for them every day,'' Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said. ``I'm up for the challenge.''

Perhaps he needs to get his team up for some defence.

Pierce hit two three-pointers and scored 12 points in the third quarter to help turn a tie early in the quarter into a 13-point lead. He hit one of his three-pointers during a 12-2 run that made it 60-48 and effectively finished off the lowly Sixers. When Pierce went deep again, it put the Celtics up by 17 points.

Delonte West made the play of the game in the fourth quarter, making a nifty hook pass in the lane off the break to Rajon Rondo for a layup and an 80-61 lead. After Wally Szczerbiak hit a three-pointer a few possessions later, what was left of another minuscule crowd booed the Sixers off the court.

West, a former Saint Joseph's standout, scored 13 points and Szczerbiak had 14 points.

``The offence was great, but I'm most proud of our defence,'' Rivers said.

When the buzzer sounded, a despondent Kyle Korver stared ahead, his hands on his head. The rest of the Sixers trudged off the court as the boos continued. Much like the Celtics, the Sixers were powerless to stop them.

``Obviously, I can't blame them,'' Sixers centre Samuel Dalembert said. ``All I can say is just believe in us and support us.''

Notes: Sixers F Rodney Carney sat out with the flu . . . While West wants to stay in Boston, he'd welcome the challenge if he was traded for Iverson. ``You could look at it as a positive, psyche yourself up,'' West said. ``They traded me for Allen so they want me to be the new franchise.'' . . . Former Sixers president Pat Croce was sorry to see Iverson's relationship with the team end on a sour note. ``I thought he was changing, he was maturing,'' Croce said. ``When I left, he was great. He did everything he needed to do. He never missed any of our charity events with me, from children's hospitals to nursing homes.'' . . . Former Villanova star and Celtics rookie G Allan Ray received a nice ovation when he checked in late in the game.