Injuries taking toll on Boston Celtics

The Celtics left South Florida battered, bruised and in an 0-2 hole.

They aren’t broken, but to climb back in hockey jerseysthis series, they’ll need more from their marquee players. They’ll need to solve the Heat’s suffocating defense and avoid lulls like the 3:50 stretch of the fourth quarter when the Heat unleashed a 14-0 run after the score was tied.

“We’ve got to get better ball movement and get the ball to the right guys and that’s always on me,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “Today was tough because I didn’t know who the hell was healthy.”

Three Celtics played through discomfort Tuesday. First, it was Paul Pierce who went down with what he identified as a “strain in my Achilles,” apparently after being stepped on by Joel Anthony following a free throw. He left with 5:05 left in the first quarter and returned with 7:41 remaining in the second.

Pierce played through the injury in Toronto Maple Leafs Jerseythe second half but attempted only four shots after intermission and closed with 13 points – five below his average against the Heat this season. “Every step is like a slight pain,” he said. “But it didn’t affect me the rest of the game.”

Meanwhile, Rajon Rondo was bothered by a sore back that prompted him to lie on his stomach when he was out on the game. His play didn’t seem to be affected; he had 20 points and 12 assists.

“One time he asked to come out at the beginning of the fourth because it got tight,” Rivers said. “It was bothering him this morning.”

And Ray Allen went to the locker-room in the fourth quarter to receive treatment on a bruised chest before returning. “I took an elbow into the chest from LeBron James and I sat on the bench and started to get shortness of breath,” Allen said. “It is just something I have to deal with.”

Allen, who shot a ridiculous 21 for 36 on three-pointers against the Heat in the teams’ previous five meetings, had a lackluster night: seven points on 2 for 7 shooting, including 1 for 2 on threes.

Allen was one of a trio of Celtics players who shot 2 for 7, with Jermaine O’Neal and backup Glen Davis also in that group. Kevin Garnett scored 16, missing 12 of 20 shots.

Celtics starters shot 9 for 32 in the first half and 5 for 12 in the fourth quarter. “We didn’t have great fluidity down the stretch,” Allen said.

Said Rivers: “We’re not a one-onherve leger dresses
-one team. Paul is the only guy who can beat guys one-on-one on his own.”

And defensively, “we’ve got to look ourselves in the mirror and do a better job on LeBron James and Dwyane Wade,” Pierce said. “One part that’s killing us is finishing off quarters.”

Some other Game 2 postscripts:

? The Heat shot 14 more free throws than Boston for the second consecutive game and now holds a 53-31 edge at the line. “That’s hurting us as much as anything,” Rivers said. “We fouled a ton of jump shooters tonight, which we can’t do.”

? The Heat’s starting unit hasn’t played well, as a group, throughout this postseason and that continued Tuesday. Outscored by five as a unit in Game 2, Miami’s starters have now been outscored by 51 points in seven postseason games. Coach Erik Spoelstra never went back to that starting lineup in the second or fourth quarters.

? Allen made one thing clear: “Being down 2-0 doesn’t scare any ofherve leger on sale
us, doesn’t make us nervous.”

? The Celtics did a much better job defending James Jones, who on Sunday set a playoff record for most playoff points without attempting a two-point shot. Jones, who scored 25 Sunday, was held to one shot (a missed two pointer) in 19 scoreless minutes.