| June 5, 2008 Pierce returns after injury in finals Game 1
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BOSTON (AP) - Boston Celtics All-Star Paul Pierce shook off an
injury scare in Game 1 of the NBA finals on Thursday night when he
had to be carried off the court by teammates in the third quarter,
only to return to play minutes later.
Pierce went to the court after colliding with teammate Kendrick
Perkins under the basket with 6:49 left in the quarter, and
Perkins' leg seemed to knock Pierce's out from under him. Pierce
stayed on the ground for several minutes as the game went into a
timeout, then had to be carried from the arena by teammates Brian
Scalabrine and Tony Allen.
But minutes after being taken to the locker room in a
wheelchair, Pierce came bounding out of the tunnel and back onto
the court, bringing the crowd to its feet. Wearing a sleeve on his
right leg, he walked right past the bench to the scorer's table to
check in with 5:04 left in the third quarter.
"I was scared when I saw him down on the floor," Celtics coach
Doc Rivers said between quarters on the TV broadcast. "But I told
them, 'We've just got to hold the fort until he gets back."
Pierce was back in the game for four minutes when he hit
consecutive 3-pointers 20 seconds apart to give the Celtics a 72-71
lead. After heading back to the bench with four fouls, he rode a
stationary bicycle in the entryway to stay loose while cheering on
his teammates.
About a minute after Pierce was injured Perkins headed for the
locker room favoring his left
