Pierce - Pitino disagree About Ankle Injury

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                                [The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
                                [Boston Globe Online / Sports]

                        

                                CELTICS NOTEBOOK
                                Pierce was itching to go

                                Forward says he's recovered from sprained
                                ankle

                                By Michael Holley, Globe Staff, 03/21/99

                                NEW YORK - It wasn't exactly the
                                        Miracle at Madison Square Garden,
                                but seeing Paul Pierce on the court
                                yesterday in the Celtics' 96-78 loss to
                                the Knicks was a bit of a surprise. Even
                                more surprising was the rookie forward
                                bristling about not receiving more playing
                                time.

                                Celtics coach Rick Pitino said he didn't
                                think Pierce would play. Pitino even said
                                that he considered putting Pierce on the
                                injured list because of his sprained left
                                ankle. But, according to Pitino, Pierce
                                approached him before the game and '' said
                                [his left ankle] felt good. I was very,
                                very surprised by it.''

                                Pitino decided to use Pierce for 13
                                minutes, only five in the second half and
                                none in the fourth quarter. Pierce said he
                                was ready to go. ''If you're going to play
                                me, let me play,'' he said. ''If not, just
                                leave me on the bench.''

                                Also, Pierce said, he didn't think his
                                ankle required injured-list consideration.

                                ''It's not that bad,'' said Pierce, who
                                finished with 2 points and three rebounds.
                                ''If you're on the injured list, you can't
                                play at all. I was in the game.''

                                Pierce was not the only player who sat
                                through the entire fourth period. Kenny
                                Anderson, Ron Mercer , and Antoine Walker
                                did not play, either. Pitino said he made
                                the move to rest his players, who have a
                                game this afternoon at the FleetCenter
                                against the Bulls. At the beginning of
                                yesterday's final quarter, the Celtics
                                already were down 20, 80-60.

                                Walker elected not to comment after the
                                game. Anderson said his sitting was ''a
                                coach's decision. We're professionals; we
                                have to accept that.''

                                Stripped of court time

                                Anderson had an interesting return home.
                                The Queens native had his worst moment in
                                the third quarter. That's when Eric Riley
                                threw him a basic inbounds pass. But
                                Anderson accepted the ball facing Riley,
                                so he didn't see Charlie Ward close
                                behind. The Knicks point guard swiped the
                                ball and scored on a layup that put New
                                York ahead by 15 with 4:55 left in the
                                quarter. One second later, Dana Barros
                                entered the game for Anderson, who did not
                                play the rest of the afternoon. Initially,
                                Anderson was upset that Riley didn't warn
                                him about Ward. But he quickly relented,
                                realized the turnover was his fault, and
                                talked to Riley about it on the bench ...
                                Vitaly Potapenko had 11 rebounds, one
                                short of his season high. He also picked
                                up his first technical - he argued a
                                third-quarter call - as a Celtic ... The
                                Artist Formerly Known As Prince was in
                                attendance. He was whisked past the
                                Celtics locker room as soon as the game
                                ended ... Billy Hunter, leader of the
                                Players' Association, also was on hand. He
                                stayed to talk with players from both
                                teams ... The Knicks have won 12 straight
                                against the Celtics at Madison Square
                                Garden.

                                This story ran on page D07 of the Boston
                                Globe on 03/21/99.
                                © Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.