With three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Paul Pierce left the game with a bruised left knee and limped to the locker room with trainer Ed Lacerte.

Pierce appeared to injury his knee earlier in the third quarter, when he was slow to come off the court at midcourt during a TV timeout.

Pierce returned to the game with 10:29 remaining in the fourth, with a wrap on his left knee. He was checked out by team doctor Alan Curtis.