Pierce hurts foot in Celts' game

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The struggling Boston Celtics just got Kevin Garnett back from injury. They'll hope he doesn't trade places with Paul Pierce.

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Pierce injured his left foot in the first quarter of Boston's 99-88 win over the Washington Wizards on Monday. He sat out part of that quarter and all of the fourth even though the win was not certain. The Celtics outscored the Wizards 25-10 without their captain to beat the Wizards.

"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."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said the injury was nothing serious, but he didn't want to risk aggravating it by pushing Pierce.

"I just didn't want to take a chance," Rivers said on why Pierce sat out the final quarter. "I shouldn't have played him in the second half. I think I messed that up. He wanted to go out and he wasn't playing bad, but I just didn't think he was moving well enough. Why take a chance?"

Washington's Caron Butler came down on top of Pierce's foot as both players dove for a loose ball near midcourt in the first quarter. Pierce's foot got sandwiched between the court and Butler's body, and, after springing to his feet, Pierce hobbled mightily trying to walk on the injury before leaning up against a table near the Boston bench.

Pierce was immediately attended to by trainer Ed Lacerte but remained on the bench for the remainder of the first quarter. Pierce scored 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting in 10 minutes of action before the injury. He finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.

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