Hurting Pierce does damage

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Despite sore wrist, he scorches Heat

By Michael Smith, Globe Staff, 4/3/2003

ou know when you think you're being put on, you let it be known that you
aren't falling for it by turning your head to one side, tilting it back,
frowning just a bit, and staring with squinched eyes? Well, Paul Pierce
deserved one of those ''gimme-a-break'' looks following the Celtics' 90-62
extinguishing of the Heat last night at the FleetCenter.



Pierce - straight-faced - contradicted what 17,156 fans had witnessed by
maintaining he sprained his right (shooting) wrist in Monday's practice. The
wrap he wore Tuesday and coach Jim O'Brien's acknowledgement of the injury
provided strong support for his claim. During the third quarter last night,
Pierce winced in pain as he rolled the wrist in an apparent attempt to loosen
the stiffness. He even threw in a wrist wiggle on his way out of the locker
room to meet his mother, who was in attendance.

So Pierce certainly displayed all the symptoms of someone with an ailing
wrist, but his game-high 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting, 7 rebounds, 5
assists, 4 steals, and 1 block - all in 32 minutes - made his story something
of a tough sell.

''I'm a quick healer,'' he said.

The wrist should be as good as new for tomorrow night's clash with the
Sacramento Kings, as Pierce rested it and anything else that may pain him for
the final 12 minutes 25.8 seconds of Boston's thrashing of Miami. ''I feel a
lot better,'' said Pierce, who is just starting to get over his recent back
injury. ''I'm starting to be as healthy as I've been pretty much all season.
I'm feeling good. I've got little injuries here and there, but not as bad as
the last couple of months.''

Everything looked tip-top last night, as Pierce scored his first points on a
steal and a breakaway dunk 1:34 into the game. Later in the first, he finished
a lefthanded drive through the line with a fancy righthanded layup. He added a
pair of 3-pointers and another jumper in the quarter, which he finished with
12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. The Wrist Watch was no longer necessary.

Pierce used the right wrist that was supposedly sore to swat Malik Allen's
shot in the second quarter. Indeed, as dynamic as he was at the offensive end,
Pierce was just as disruptive at the defensive end. He did as much reaching
and tapping and tipping as any of the Celtics, who came in looking to end a
streak of seven games in which they allowed at least 90 points. Toward the end
of his night, Pierce stepped in and stole a LaPhonso Ellis pass, took it in
for another dunk, was fouled by Rasual Butler, then completed the 3-point
play.

The wrist got a lot of work in the third quarter, which may explain why it
appeared to bother Pierce. It did a lot of snapping, as Pierce (13 points in
the third) knocked down a three a minute into the period and hit a pair of
jumpers from awkward angles with the shot clock nearing expiration. He also
tossed a nice alley-oop feed to Tony Delk in the quarter for a reverse dunk.

''He definitely had it going,'' Delk said. ''He did a good job with his
all-around game, playing defense, rebounding the ball. He did everything a
superstar is supposed to do to help his team win.''

A roughly 41-percent shooter for the season, Pierce shot 58 percent last night
with a bum wrist because he let his teammates help him. ''I'm concentrating on
getting good shots,'' he said. ''If we move the ball, it loosens the defense,
and I'm in better position when it rotates back to me. I'm trying to stay away
from taking bad shots, make sure I'm taking shots within the flow of the
offense.''

Thanks,

Steve
sb@maine.rr.com

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