Paul Pierce

Purple and gold colored the dreams that danced in Paul Pierce's head so many years ago. As a boy growing up in Inglewood, just down the boulevard from the Forum, he wondered what it might feel like to play for the Lakers. "Just to tell you," he says, "I didn't want to be a Boston Celtic." Such childish distinctions should have died long ago, replaced by the reality of more than a decade spent wearing Celtic green. Any vestige of hometown loyalty should have evaporated when Pierce led his team past the Lakers for the 2008 NBA championship.

A test of Celtics pride It's enough to make Ray Allen wonder whether he's got any game left. The veteran Boston Celtics sharpshooter recently lost his starting spot to Avery Bradley and then had to deal with the public disclosure of a failed trade involving Memphis guard O.J. Mayo . Allen was nearly sent to the Grizzlies last month in exchange for Mayo and a draft pick, though Celtics Coach Doc Rivers refuted one...

Paul Pierce talks a big game, always. Considerable street credit flowed his way in 2008 when he backed it up, leading his team to a title over the Lakers and grabbing the Finals most valuable player trophy in the process. Two years later, in the Finals against the same opponent, his talk hasn't tempered, but his play had to the absolute utmost until Thursday night. In the Celtics' 96-89 Game 4 win over the Lakers, Pierce, the Celtics' captain, carried them early and finished it late.

When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket, ESPN; Radio: 980, 1330. Records: Clippers 23-15, Celtics 21-19. Update: The Celtics started their eight-game trip with a loss to the Lakers on Sunday, falling 97-94 after blowing a late lead. Boston has five players scoring in double figures, led by Paul Pierce (18.4 a game). Dynamic point guard Rajon Rondo ranks second in the NBA in assists (10.0 a game). Keep an eye on the glass: The Celtics rank last in the NBA in rebounds, averaging 38.9 a game, and the Clippers are tied for 11th, grabbing 42.9.

at Boston 103, Indiana 94: Paul Pierce missed his first 10 shots but scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, including seven in a row, to put the Celtics ahead for good. Pierce finished with 21 points. Troy Murphy had 24 points and a season-high 18 rebounds for the Pacers. at Washington 105, Philadelphia 98: Gilbert Arenas scored the game's first seven points and finished the first quarter with 15 on the way to a game-high 31 points for the Wizards. Elton Brand led the 76ers with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Reporting from Boston -- Paul Pierce snatched the lofted pass of desperation and then danced along the sideline's edge, one wrong step from a costly turnover. Derek Fisher flopped and flailed beside him, which wasn't helping. And in a crucial instant, with the clock inside of a minute and his team up only five points, Pierce's instincts took over. Off-balance though he was, a green blur racing downcourt caught his vision, and Pierce fired. The pass was perfect, catching Rajon Rondo in stride, and Rondo sailed in for an easy layup, the dagger in Boston's 92-86 win in Sunday's Game 5. "I was just showing off my Randy Moss and my Tom Brady in one play, that's all," Pierce said.

at Boston 118, New Jersey 86: Paul Pierce shook off a cold first half and scored 18 of his 22 points in the third quarter with five-for-five three-point shooting to lead the Celtics to their third consecutive victory. at Indiana 110, Detroit 106 (OT): Danny Granger scored 24 points and made the tying shot late in regulation to help the Pacers end a three-game losing streak.

Paul Pierce never planned to leave Boston when he opted out of the final year of his contract. He just wanted to help the Celtics find him some teammates. "I never thought once about leaving the Celtics," Pierce said Thursday when the team announced he had signed a four-year deal. "I wanted this team to get better, knowing we didn't win a championship. … Also, I wanted to ensure that I had a chance to retire as a Celtic." Since losing the NBA finals in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston re-signed Ray Allen , who will be 35 on Tuesday, to a two-year contract and gave free agent center-forward Jermaine O'Neal , 31, a two-year deal.

Reporting From Boston -- Do the math. Or, in this case, don't do the math. Doc Rivers was asked about coaching against the Lakers' Phil Jackson in the NBA Finals, as the Celtics fielded questions Monday afternoon at their training facility in woody, suburban Waltham, Mass. Rivers chuckled. "Oh, like I've always said, I don't even look at that matchup," Rivers said, a few hours before the team departed for Los Angeles. "You're comparing me to Phil … we're in trouble.

Reporting from Boston ? The Boston Celtics won a championship last season and now have a chance to defend it ? in a manner of speaking. Celtics forward Paul Pierce is one of six players who will take part in the All-Star three-point contest Feb. 19 at Staples Center, the NBA announced Tuesday. Pierce, who beat Golden State guard Stephen Curry last season in the contest, will be challenged this year by the Warriors' Dorell Wright, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, Cleveland's Daniel Gibson, Miami's James Jones and Celtics teammate Ray Allen.

When he coached the Cleveland Cavaliers, Mike Brown said, he was "always concerned" about Andrew Bynum but never had to focus on him because the Lakers' triangle offense guaranteed the 7-foot center wouldn't get many touches. "And we knew at the end of the game he wasn't going to be on the floor," Brown said. "So we never had a game plan for him except for, 'Hey, box him out,' and that type of stuff. " Brown has a new perspective on Bynum as the Lakers' coach. He not only put Bynum on the floor for the last minutes against the Celtics at Staples Center on Sunday, Brown agreed when Kobe Bryant suggested drawing up a play for Bynum coming out of a timeout with 23.8 seconds left and the Lakers holding a one-point lead.

It ended in frustration, without a hint of sentimentality. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen walked off the Staples Center court for what could be the last time as a group Sunday, their heavy-heartedness confined to the way the final few minutes unfolded for the Boston Celtics. They lost a five-point lead in the final 2 minutes 16 seconds and were pestered into a pair of desperation shots in the final moments of a 97-94 loss to the hated Lakers. "Sometimes that's the way it goes," Pierce said.

One last chance for mankind. . . . No, it's not Godzilla, King Kong, Frankenstein, Dracula or Norman Bates' mother, but the Miami Heat, the most hated, hyped, mocked, given-up-for-dead ratings magnet the NBA ever had the good fortune to see unjustly accused. If NBA fans might root for alternate life forms against the Heat, like the one with all the teeth that pops out of John Hurt's stomach in "Alien," one last champion for Our Kind remains standing. . . . Mark Cuban?

Doc Rivers agreed to a five-year contract extension that would not only give him another run at an NBA title as coach of the Celtics, but also could keep him in Boston to help rebuild the franchise when the Big Three era is done. "I think Doc is the best coach in the league. So it's great for us," General Manager Danny Ainge said. "There's nobody I'd rather have as my coach than Doc. " Rivers' contract was set to expire — he had an option for next season — and he said after the Celtics were eliminated by the Miami Heat on Wednesday night that he was "leaning heavily" toward coming back.

2. LAKERS VS. 3 DALLAS Season series: Lakers, 2-1. Key stat: The Lakers are 10-4 against the Mavericks over four seasons, 6-1 in Staples Center, 4-3 in Dallas. Even without injured Caron Butler, this is the Mavericks' best team since their 2006 finalists, with 7-1 Tyson Chandler joining veterans Dirk Nowitzki, 32, Jason Kidd, 38, Jason Terry, 33 and Shawn Marion, 32. They're as big as the Lakers and much deeper but essentially jump shooters who defend.

BOSTON AT NEW YORK: Monday at 4:30 p.m. PDT. TV: NBA TV Here's a fun game, since lots of people like to root against the Celtics and Knicks (and the Miami Heat and Lakers) since both are struggling and someone has to lose. Both teams were success stories at the All-Star break before making dramatic/dizzy trades. The Knicks moved everyone on the roster over 6-8½ in bare feet to get Carmelo Anthony. The Celtics traded Kendrick Perkins, the heart of their defense, for Jeff Green, who backs up Paul Pierce, and Nenad Krstic, a misplaced power forward starting at center until Shaquille O'Neal gets back.

This is why Ron Artest joined the Lakers last summer — to play for an NBA championship. It's why the Lakers signed Artest to a five-year, $33.9-million contract — to put his physical defensive prowess up against small forwards such as Boston's Paul Pierce. It's all in place now, for Artest and the Lakers, as L.A. prepares to play host to Boston in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night at Staples Center. Or not. "It's not like [there's]

The Boston Celtics said a review by their medical staff determined Paul Pierce has a sprained left foot. He is listed as day-to-day. Reports earlier Tuesday indicated Pierce might have broken his foot Monday at Washington, which would've idled him several weeks. Del Harris resigns Former Lakers coach Del Harris resigned as an assistant with the New Jersey Nets. Harris, 72, joined the team in late November after General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe was named interim coach following the firing of Lawrence Frank after the Nets' 0-17 start.

Da who? Da, er, the Bulls were such a surprise to everyone, including themselves, that they were still adjusting when the trade deadline arrived with its hard choices. At 38-17 with Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer limited to a handful of games together and two non-shooting shooting guards, they targeted Memphis' O.J. Mayo , who shoots, defends and could even back up Derrick Rose at the point. Unfortunately, they couldn't bring themselves to part with either Taj Gibson or Omer Asik and lost out. Within hours of the deadline passing, the Bulls came from 10 points behind to rock Miami's world ?