Frank Dell'Apa has the report in the Globe.
Paul Pierce worked out at nearly full speed during the Celtics' shootaround at Georgia Tech this morning. But Pierce did not expect his left knee, which sustained a contusion and bruise in a clash with Utah's Hakan Okur Monday, to be fully tested until the Celtics' game against Atlanta started. Tip-off was set for 7:10 p.m.
"I wore a knee brace and I'll give it a go," Pierce said while trainer Ed Lacerte wrapped ice bags around the knee. "If we had played yesterday I probably wouldn't have played. I'll ice and, hopefully, play. It's whatever the doctors say — a little bit of swelling. I'll definitely go.
"I did the normal stuff (in practice), we went through our plays. But you never can tell when it's not game-like speed. When it's game-like speed, we'll see how it feels and go from there."
Doesn't sound entirely fantastic… but he's going to play. I'm sure if there was any chance of him doing further damage, they'd sit him. I want to win… but I'll sacrifice December games to keep our guys healthy if I have to.
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