WALTHAM — Paul Pierce said he was happy to hear that Dwight Howard was not getting suspended for Game 3 after his flagrant 1 foul in the second quarter of Game 2 that resulted in a pair of scratch marks on Pierce’s forehead above his left eye.

“My reaction to him not getting suspended is a good reaction because we want the team’s best,” Pierce said. “In order to be the best, you want to get their best. If they lose Dwight Howard, obviously they’re still a good team but that’s not the best team they put on the floor. We just want their best.”

The NBA announced Wednesday that Howard would not be disciplined for the hard foul that resulted in Pierce hitting the deck hard just before halftime on Tuesday night.