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PHILADELPHIA -- Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen rolled his ailing right ankle in the second half of Monday's Game 5 triumph over the 76ers, but said he's ready to go for Wednesday's Game 6 in Philadelphia.

Allen, who missed the first two games of the postseason due to bone spurs in his right ankle, jumped back into the starting lineup Monday with Avery Bradley sidelined by shoulder issues. Allen said he tweaked the ankle that night, but took himself out of the game and prevented it from getting worse.

"I rolled it; It feels good now, though," said Allen. "I don’t have any concerns. I was glad I took myself out when I did because I gave it a chance to calm down."

Echoed coach Doc Rivers on the injury: "It is what it is. He’s a go right now."

Allen said these are the type of situations he puts all the offseason work in for, so that his body will stand up when the games matter most.

"I believe that I'm a tough person," he said. "I believe my body is tough. You go through these things where you’re testing it out."

A few other leftover notes from the team's morning shootaround:

* Celtics rookie center Greg Stiemsma aggravated a longstanding foot injury in Monday's Game 5 win, but said it wouldn't keep him off the court. Added Rivers: "He said he feels much better today and he’ll definitely play. He’d be the definite of the (injured guys)."

* Before talking about Stiemsma, Rivers had already deemed Bradley questionable and acknowledged Allen's rolled ankle. When a reporter asked if there was anybody else ailing, Rivers quipped, "Not that I know of. But I don’t ask, because I might get an answer."

* Asked about Larry Bird's comments that his Pacers team was "soft" in Tuesday's loss to the Miami Heat, Rivers noted, "The last time he did that, Kurt Rambis had that famous clothesline. So if I’m Miami, I’d watch out. Listen, whatever works. But you don’t want it to get taken to some of the level of play in yesterday’s game, I thought some of that was -- there’s nothing wrong with hard physical play, I love it, I think it should be allowed more. But, nothing where it has a chance to injure a player. That's not good."

* Rivers was asked if he wanted his team to remember any part of the Game 4 loss in Philadelphia where Boston fumbled away an 18-point second-half lead. "Whatever gets them better," said Rivers. "I don’t stick on stuff much. Listen, there's nothing you can do about it. There were lessons to be learned, and it wasn’t us letting up, it was us losing our composure. But whatever helps you. If reading a book helps you, go read a book. I don’t care. Go golf, do whatever you need to do. But just be ready."

* Ray Allen on the difficulty of a closeout game: "It’s the hardest one to get if you take that mentality that you have to win. Just like anything else, when you've go to do something, and you put too much pressure on yourself to have to succeed. My approach is to go into it, just pay attention to the small little details of your job -- everybody does their job -- and the rest will take care of itself."

BOSTON -- Celtics second-year shooting guard Avery Bradley will miss Monday's Game 5 due to shoulder issues, which will force Ray Allen back into the starting lineup for a pivotal battle with the Philadelphia 76ers in the teams’ Eastern Conference semifinal series at TD Garden.

Bradley dislocated his left shoulder for the third time this postseason during Friday's Game 4 loss and despite the additional time off, he's not ready to get back on the floor. Compounding matters, he's now experiencing discomfort in his right shoulder, something Rivers believes could be from him compensating for the sore left rotator cuff.

"It’s not just the one, it’s actually both shoulders," Rivers said. "That’s probably from trying to protect the other one. It’s pretty bad. Now – we’ve got to keep winning, obviously -- he’ll still play games, I think. I think this is probably how it’s going to be from this point on. He’ll play a game, miss a couple, play a game. That’s the way it’ll be."

Pressed on his availability moving forward, including Wednesday's Game 6, Rivers was noncommittal.

"I don’t know," he said. "We’re going to focus on tonight. Take care of that, then obviously tomorrow we'll worry about that. We just have to focus on tonight."

What do the Celtics lose without Bradley on the floor?

"Well, we lose our defensive captain, really -- him and Kevin (Garnett)," Rivers said. "They are both terrific. And without Avery at guard, it takes away the ability to put Rondo on different guys to give him a rest at times. I think ball pressure against Philly is really important and to ask Rondo to do that and run the team is very difficult. It clearly takes something out of our lineup."

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PHILADELPHIA -- After Celtics reserve guard Ray Allen got up only one shot in Wednesday's Game 3 win over the 76ers, there remains a lot of chatter about whether he needs more touches moving forward.

Allen continues to suggest he's perfectly fine with a low shot output if Boston continues to win lopsided playoff games. And Celtics coach Doc Rivers pointed out Friday morning that Allen impacts the game whether he's rifling off 14 shots (like he did while scoring 17 points in Game 2) or a single shot in Game 3.

"I don’t have to change anything tonight that happened from the last game," said Allen. "The way they guarded me, the way they guarded us as a team -- the final score was the result that we were all hoping for. I can do everything this whole day the same way, go into the game and handle it the same way. The object is to win."

Wednesday's Game 3 was the first time in 117 playoff games that Allen had less than four shots in a postseason contest. What's more, it was only the second time in his career that he generated just one shot in a game. The other? Back on Jan. 11, 2006, when Allen, then with the Seattle SuperSonics, and Keyon Dooling, then with the Orlando Magic, got tossed for a second-quarter dust-up.

Informed of the coincidence, both Allen and Dooling could smile about that night. Dooling joked, "Well then we gotta make sure no one gets in a scuffle with him; maybe he’ll get more shots."

Even if he doesn't, Rivers is perfectly fine with Allen drawing constant attention on the floor.

"Allen on the floor means somebody’s open," said Rivers. "I always kid with Reggie Miller and say, 'Hey, we could use you on the last play of the game, today.’ Because it guarantees someone is going to stand next to him, and that’s what Ray does. Ray sets picks for us right now and no one can get off his body, or he stands in the corner, and someone’s going to stand next to him, which allows us to drive to his side. And that’s what we did a lot (in Game 3) -- drove to Ray’s side."

Allen takes the constant attention -- and the low shot output -- as a sign of respect.

"I think about what I’ve been able to do in this league, over the course of my career, being able to be regarded as one of the greatest shooters of all time. Now it’s at the point where it hurts me," he said. "Nobody wants me to take a shot. I appreciate that respect from opposing players and opposing coaches, or fans, when I get open, they always wonder how I get open. To be able to use that in the game, in a playoff situation, is a huge weapon.

"I’m always ready to take the shot and make the shot. But I know being out there on the floor, it does change the complexity of how the other team plays defense. It helps with cutting, with pick-and-roll coverages -- it helps a lot. You have to do what you have to do to help this team win. It can be frustrating because you want to get in and get the ball. The ultimate objective here is for us to win games, and that, to me, I have to help the team win."

PHILADELPHIA -- Ever the pleaser, Kevin Garnett looked at Ray Allen in the Celtics' locker room after Wednesday's Game 3 win over the 76ers and told him how the team needed to get more shots. Allen just smiled and, knowing Garnett was exhausted after a 27-point, 13-rebound effort that saw him put up a whopping 17 shots, told him not to worry about Allen's output.

"I know (Garnett) at times, he gets tired and it looks like we’re really going to him a lot. I want to help him as much as I can," said Allen. "But he told me last night in the locker room, ‘We gotta do whatever we can to get you open.’ And I looked at him and I said, ‘Kevin, you're the guy that’s getting the shots, you're the guy that’s scoring. We just won by 20. I don’t need (shots), for the sake of my ego or anything like that. We just have to keep doing what we’re doing. If they’re going to continue to guard us this way, you gotta keep doing what you’re doing, because we’re going to keep giving you the ball.'"

Wednesday's victory was the only time in Allen's career that he's taken less than four shots in a playoff game (that came back on May 6, 2008 when he was 0 for 4 in a win over Cleveland). In 115 other career playoff games, Allen had never attempted less than six shots per contest.

But if Boston's offense is going to put up 107 points, Allen isn't going to bark about touches. No, he's content to grab four rebounds over 25:26 and spend the night as a bit of a decoy if it results in lopsided wins.

"It’s the playoffs, so you gotta play to your second and third option, try to get easy baskets," said Allen. "They're trying to take me and Paul (Pierce) out of the game. Paul, yesterday, he attacked early in transition; Rondo attacked in transition, so those plays were tough to stop. All of our set stuff, they’re trying to take away. So when I come off screens, they’re contributing two guys to me. So to be out there, I have to have some type of impact other than scoring, so I gotta make sure I’m giving help, defensively, on the big guys down low, and definitely rebounding, which has been our Achilles' (heel) all year. In order to win in these playoffs, we have to rebound, and that gives us transition buckets. For us guards, we have to give a more conscious effort on rebounding."

Allen is in the final year of his contract and a diminished role could entice him to look elsewhere after the season. Asked about this being the potential last rodeo for the Big Three, he echoed the company line and said that's been the buzz for numerous years and said he couldn't focus on it now.

"You just have to not worry about tomorrow and focus on the present, because there’s a lot happening in the present," said Allen.

What's maybe more noteworthy is that Allen made it through an entire press interview without the subject of his balky right ankle being brought up, an encouraging sign in his progress through bone spurs that forced him to sit out the first two games of the postseason.

BOSTON -- Celtics reserve shooting guard Ray Allen said his ailing right ankle hindered him more than usual during Boston's Game 6 triumph over the Atlanta Hawks and admitted his availability is day-to-day moving forward into the next round.

Allen missed six of the seven shots he took in Thursday's game, chipping in 7 points and 5 rebounds over 26:29 in Boston's 83-80 triumph that ended the Hawks' season. Boston opens a conference semifinal series with the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night with Game 1 at TD Garden.

"(The ankle) bothered more tonight than it had the previous couple games," said Allen. "I didn’t have the confidence on it. Right now, it bothers me, but I have a day (Friday) to deal with it."

Might Allen miss a game if the pain lingers?

"I never rule myself out," he said. "I think it’s a day-to-day situation for me."

Allen previously noted, "Today wasn’t a great day. I struggled with (the ankle). (Wednesday) was a transition day, but coming in (Thursday), it was a little tougher. I just worked through it."

Maybe the most surefire sign that Allen simply isn't feeling right: He missed a pair of free throws during Thursday's game.

"I won’t say (the injury) affects my free throw shooting," said Allen. "I think it just affects your whole confidence on the floor -- running around, moving around, not having your leg underneath you."

Allen said his rhythm "felt a little suspect. I’m still working on it. Every day is a new day. I always love the challenge."

From ESPN Playbook's Patrick Dorsey:

Sometime Tuesday -- before the Boston Celtics' potential closeout game against the Atlanta Hawks (8 p.m. ET) -- Ray Allen will hit the court and go through his rigorous shooting routine, one that has helped him to become the NBA's all-time leading 3-point converter.

That routine didn't go unnoticed by Celtics team photographer Brian Babineau. And Babineau wanted to do something about it. Something in film. Something "that was different than what has been seen of it before," he explained via email.

"I didn't want commentary or it to be an instructional video," Babineau continued. "More of an artsy, dark and interesting angle on it."

He pulled that off, with the fascinating, hypnotizing short film "The Routine," a six-minute piece that took two days of shooting and a little post-production.

Hop HERE to read more.

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Celtics guard Ray Allen offered optimism over his ailing right ankle and said he expected to go through practice with the team on Thursday, but coach Doc Rivers stressed that he'll keep a close eye on Allen's activity while trying to figure out the proper balance that will allow him to get back to game action.

"The last couple of days, I've been in a really good place, so I'm optimistic," said Allen. "If I'm sitting here [Friday] feeling good, that's a different story. I am optimistic about practicing today so that's definitely a great step for me moving forward."

Allen missed the final nine games of the regular season and the first two games of an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Atlanta Hawks due to soreness in a right ankle that will require surgery to remove bone spurs after the season. Allen has been a game-time decision each of the first two games and will likely be the same for Friday's Game 3 at TD Garden, the key being how his ankle responds to Thursday's activity.

"He wants to do more today, so we’ll see," said Rivers. "We did that [Monday] and it didn’t work. So, we have to maybe limit Ray from Ray. He’s such a creature of habit and I actually thought that might have hurt him or any chance for him to play, obviously. [The ankle] reacted that poorly after just the workout he did [Monday], it was probably good that he didn’t play, at the end of the day."

Rivers said he'll put Allen through practice on his watch and stressed he'll pull the reins if necessary.

"He’s a tough one, he's such a creature of habit, and he does his workouts -- the night before every game he comes in and does two hours of shooting and then before the game he does his hour of shooting. That’s a lot of work," said Rivers. "We have to figure out a way to allow him to do some of it, but not so much where he just can’t play. I’d rather take 10 minutes of him on the floor than nothing, if that’s what it comes to."

Rivers said no one on the team is really quite sure how to bring Allen along.

"He told me [Wednesday] that he was going to practice and I told him, ‘We’ll see.’ Really, I don’t even know what to do. Honest to God," said Rivers. "[Team trainer] Eddie [Lacerte] and our doctors, we’ve all talked -- we don’t know what else to do. We don’t know if practice is a good idea or not."

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ATLANTA -- Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers said that, even if Rajon Rondo is suspended for Game 2 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Atlanta Hawks, he will not be tempted to rush ailing shooting guard Ray Allen back into the lineup.

Allen sat out Game 1 due to lingering pain with a right ankle that will require surgery after the season to remove bone spurs. Rivers had dubbed Allen at "50/50" before Sunday's game, but he was unable to go. Allen was back on the floor getting up shots as the team prepared to practice Monday afternoon, but Rivers suggested he didn't think Allen would be ready for Game 2.

"If Ray is not ready, he’s not ready," said Rivers. "One thing I don’t do -- I’ll never do it, and maybe I’m wrong in it -- I don’t ever put a guy out if he isn’t ready. I just won’t put him on the floor. If Ray told me he could play and [team trainer] Eddie [Lacerte] said he didn’t think he could play, Ray would not play. That’s just the way it is. [Allen] said he felt a little better, but I don’t see it right now."

Allen sat out the final nine games of the regular season (and 15 of the final 19 overall) due to the ankle issue (he's received multiple cortisone shots trying to reduce the pain). Allen said Sunday that he doesn't want to be a liability when he's on the floor and will wait until his ankle is healthy enough to allow him to compete at playoff intensity.

ATLANTA -- Celtics coach Doc Rivers gave shooting guard Ray Allen a "50/50" chance of playing in Sunday's Game 1 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinals series against the Atlanta Hawks, but admitted to having multiple game plans based on his availability.

"[Allen is] probably [a] game-time [decision]," said Rivers. "The way I think it’ll probably end up, he’ll go over and do his routine early, and honestly, if you want to gauge it, if he gets through his routine, which he hasn’t been able to do the last two times he’s tried to play, then he'll probably play. That’s how I'm going to judge it. My coaches will call me and let me know, but we’ve got two plans, one with him and one without. And one with him and maybe not in the second half, we just don’t know. That’s just the way we’ll play it."

Allen got up some shots while reporters were present before the start of the team's walkthrough on the campus of Georgia Tech. He was cryptic on his status, stressing his desire to play, but suggesting he needed to be fully confident in the balky right ankle given the increased intensity of playoff basketball.

"I’m trying not to [think about the ankle], I’m just taking a day to go through it and understand how my body feels," said Allen. "It’s kinda hard, it’s the playoffs. I gotta be totally ready and, as much as I know I can help the team, I don’t want to detract away from the team."

Allen said he'd make the decision about his status "soon." He was unable to go through practice on Saturday, noting the ankle simply wouldn't allow him to do as much as he would have liked.

If Allen does play, Rivers expects him to be typical Allen.

"If I play him, I expect him to make shots," said Rivers. "We’re not going to put him on the floor unless we think he can play well. Obviously, he hasn’t played, so his conditioning can’t be very good. I don’t know. [If he's able to play,] we’re just going to put him out there and see."

Allen admitted Saturday that he will require surgery at some point, but also said it is not an option now because of the playoffs. He said if this were the beginning of the season, he would opt to have surgery.

Rivers reaffirmed Sunday that everyone else on the team is healthy and ready to play in Game 1.

BOSTON -- A collection of news and notes following the Celtics' 78-66 victory over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.

RIVERS THINKS ALLEN WILL BE READY FOR PLAYOFFS

Celtics coach Doc Rivers acknowledged prior to Tuesday's victory that Ray Allen's prolonged ankle woes are a "concern," but he did offer one of his only glances of hope in recent weeks after the game, when he noted that he thinks Allen will be ready for the postseason, which will begin either Saturday or Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks.

"I think Ray will be ready," Rivers said. "I don't know that. I do think he will be ready. But if he's not, someone else has to be."

WILLIAMS MAKES GARDEN DEBUT

Playing in only his second game with the Celtics, Sean Williams made his TD Garden debut on Tuesday night, and it was a noticeable improvement over his brief three-minute stint against the Hawks last Friday. Williams played 20 minutes on Tuesday, scoring 5 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals.

His most distinguishing impact came in the fourth quarter, in which he managed 4 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, helping to spark Boston as it outscored Miami 28-16 over the final 12 minutes. Williams impressed Rivers with his competitiveness down the stretch.

"It was OK. I mean, he's a shot-blocker, doesn't know a lot of our stuff," Rivers said when asked to assess Williams' performance. "He was pressing early. ... One thing I did like about Sean down the stretch -- he's competitive, and you can see that. He wasn't going to back down from anything. He got some great blocked shots, so that was good to see."

When informed of Rivers' compliment to his competitiveness, Williams touched on the need to take advantage of opportunities when they're presented.

"This team, we have goals. We want to be champions," Williams said. "Everybody has to come out focused, with the mindset that we can't waste any time out there, and we can only get better with every opportunity. A game like this, with the Big Four out, all of us players on the bench -- a lot of the players haven't had a lot of action this year and what not -- it's a chance to prove to Doc that we're ready whenever he's going to call us."

Williams played less than eight minutes in the first half, but settled into a rhythm nicely in the final quarter, and was able to produce in a variety of areas. He admitted afterward that he was more relaxed throughout the second half, and that allowed him to be more effective.

"You go out there, your first time out there, you get tired real fast, your legs get down on you real quick," he said. "Everything kind of shuts down on you when you first get out there, so, yeah, I caught my second wind, I guess, in the second half."

HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE STILL POSSIBLE

The Celtics are set to play the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round of the playoffs this weekend, but where the first two games will be held has not been decided. Both the Celtics and Hawks won on Tuesday, meaning the Celtics still trail Atlanta by a game in the standings. Both teams wrap up the regular season on Thursday (Boston will face Milwaukee while Atlanta will battle Dallas), but if the Celtics win and the Hawks lose, leaving the teams with the same record, Boston will assume home-court advantage by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker (the C's won two of three regular-season meetings).

Despite a desire to still rest any players that might need it, there's no denying Thursday's game takes on heightened significance.

"We're going to play our guys Thursday, anyway, especially because they didn't play today," Rivers said, referring to the likes of Kevin Garnett and Mickael Pietrus. "It would be nice to put some more pressure and force Atlanta to have to win. That would be nice."

Added Keyon Dooling, "We expect to win every time we go out on the court. No matter who suits up, we expect to win the game. Hopefully our guys are getting their rest, which is really important, but our seeding is important as well. If we have to get that win, we're coming in trying to tear their head off."

WALTHAM, Mass. -- It has been two weeks since Ray Allen appeared in a game for the Celtics. In that span, while trying to recover from a right ankle injury, he has seen one comeback attempt fall short, added a walking boot to his daily routine and watched his team do pretty well without him.

He could not come up with a definitive answer Monday as to when we’ll next see him in a game. We know it won’t be Tuesday night against Miami; he’s been ruled out of that one. Beyond that, he can’t say, not even for the Thursday night regular-season finale at home against Milwaukee.

“It’s still being a little troublesome," Allen said of the ankle. “It’s getting better. I’m aggressively treating it. I ran today (on a low-impact exercise machine) for the first time in three or four days. We’ll see how it responds.”

Asked about getting some playing time on Thursday, Allen said, “I don’t think I’m that far along yet. We’ll go at it again on Tuesday and see on Wednesday.” He later said he was, basically, day-to-day.

Allen was one of four rotation regulars to sit out Monday’s rare practice, joined on the sidelines by Rajon Rondo, Mickael Pietrus and Greg Stiemsma. Coach Doc Rivers said he expected Rondo to return for the Miami game. (Rondo deadpanned he was “39 percent” for the game and added he mostly stayed off the floor to avoid contact.) Pietrus is a “maybe,” Rivers said. Stiemsma should play; he hasn’t practiced for some time due to foot issues.

Asked about Allen, Rivers said, “It’s not healing. It’s getting better, slowly, but until it gets all the way, we’re going to keep sitting him. If he can play Thursday, we’ll play him. Not a lot, but we’ll play him.”

There have been two “right ankle” periods of inactivity for Allen. The first surfaced at the end of the Celtics’ eight-game road trip in March. He sat out the trip finale in Philadelphia, then missed five additional games. He returned for the April 4 game against the Spurs after getting a cortisone shot. That would turn out to be the last game he started.

With Avery Bradley flourishing, Allen accepted a role coming off the bench in the next four games, still averaging more than 30 minutes a game. But he has not played since going 35 minutes in Miami on April 10.

The Miami game Tuesday will be the eighth straight game and 19th overall that Allen has missed this season. Fourteen of those absences are due to his right ankle. He said Monday that he’s not ruling out another cortisone shot, but is waiting to see how his current therapy plays out. Mostly, he said, he’s resting the ankle as much as he can. When he’s ambulatory, he wears the walking boot.

“I wear the boot all day," he said. “It keeps me from flexing the ankle and hopefully takes away the wear and tear. I can’t say whether it helps or hurts because I don’t know what would happen if I didn’t wear it.”

Allen thought he would return last week in New York, joining the team there and participating in the morning shootaround on April 17. But, as he said, after that workout, “it just blew up. ... I was frustrated.”

An MRI has revealed tiny bone spurs (Allen said they are the size of a grain of sand), which appear to be the culprit. He said it was nowhere near the problem he had with his ankles in 2006-07, when he had larger bone spurs that necessitated surgery.

But with the playoffs starting this weekend, he simply does not know if he will be able to play. He is involved in the playoff preparations for Atlanta as much as he can be. The mind is certainly willing.

“I can’t do anything more than what my body allows," he said. “It’s hard to say. You get up, pay attention to it, get treatment. Then we’ll see where it goes from there.”

The Celtics are 14-4 in the 18 games Allen has missed this season. He also has missed three games with a jammed left ankle and two games due to illness.

The 18 games are the most Allen has missed since he was out for 27 games in 2006-07, the year before he came to Boston. As a Celtic, he had missed only 16 games in his first four seasons, the most (nine) coming in his first season. He is averaging 14.2 points in 34 minutes a game. Those statistics are the lowest since his rookie year of 1996-97.

Pietrus has not played since April 15 in Charlotte, tending to right knee issues while missing three games. He has missed 15 games since he was activated in mid-January, 10 of those due to a concussion suffered March 23 in Philadelphia. Rondo has sat out the last two games (Orlando and Atlanta) with what the team said is a sore lower back. He has missed 10 games this season.

BOSTON -- Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers confirmed before Wednesday's game against the Orlando Magic that the team nearly traded Ray Allen at last month's deadline, dubbing it a "scary moment," but suggested it's in the rearview mirror for the player and team.

Earlier Wednesday, Yahoo! Sports reported that the Celtics were close to a deal that would have sent Allen to the Memphis Grizzlies for a package that included O.J. Mayo and a draft pick. The report indicated that Rivers even called Allen to alert him to the trade -- Rivers said he never did that, but acknowledged that Allen and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge were in contact during the trade talks -- and the coach said he breathed a sigh of relief when Boston's core emerged intact when the deadline passed.

"It was a scary moment, for all of us. If you lose Ray, that’s a scary moment," said Rivers. "He’s pretty good."

Asked if he was in favor of keeping the Big Three together, Rivers added, "I wouldn't want to see Ray, Paul [Pierce], or Kevin [Garnett] ever moved. That’s just how you are. Even if you got the best deal in the world, you’re still losing guys you have an attachment with. That would be scary for me, or any of us."

Rivers tried to dismiss Wednesday's hoopla, suggesting it was old news for Boston.

"I don’t see what the big deal is, that was a month ago," said Rivers. "I’m serious, I don’t get the big deal of it."

Rivers also said the near deal had no lingering impact on Allen or the team.

"Our guys are great, that’s the point," said Rivers. "Afterwards, we were all good; just moved forward. That’s what I love about this team."

The Celtics' bench will be thin Tuesday night against the Knicks as both Ray Allen (ankle) and Mickael Pietrus (knee) will miss the game.

Allen appeared set to return after joining the team in New York and going through a morning shootaround, but his sore right ankle flared after the session, according to coach Doc Rivers. Pietrus, who had offseason right knee surgery, experienced some swelling after the Celtics endured a back-to-back-to-back this past weekend, which may have contributed to his being sent home.

"I got here and the Grim Reaper -- that’s what we call [team trainer] Eddie [Lacerte] when he comes in -- and he gave me the news [on Allen]. You just roll with it; we’ll see tomorrow," Rivers told reporters in New York.

As for Pietrus, Rivers added, "[It was] probably the three days in a row. You kind of forget that he's been out so long and we threw him right back in the fire. I probably erred there, three days in a row for him; His knee swelled up, so we sent him back home, right away."

Allen has now missed 11 of the team's last 16 games. Pietrus missed 10 games while recovering from a concussion before returning for the last four games.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers told reporters at the team's morning shootaround at Madison Square Garden that guard Ray Allen made the trip to New York and is expected to suit up Tuesday night against the Knicks.

Allen has missed 10 of the team's last 15 games due to right ankle soreness. He did not travel for the back-to-back-to-back to open this four-game road trip, but will give it a go after a full week of rest (he last played in Miami on April 10).

The Celtics are 13-2 without Allen this season and 3-1 since he's moved to a bench role allowing second-year guard Avery Bradley to run with the first unit.

Ray Allen's mother, Flo Allen-Hopson, will run the Boston Marathon again on Monday to raise awareness of childhood diabetes:

As the mother of NBA champion Ray Allen, Flo Allen-Hopson is best known for wearing her bedazzled No. 20 jersey while cheering for her son at Boston's TD Garden. But don't let her jeweled attire fool you; Allen's 56-year-old mom can probably kick your butt in a foot race.

That's because when she's not in the crowd supporting her son, she's pounding the pavement in preparation for her third consecutive Boston Marathon on Monday. Allen-Hopson once again is running to raise funds for the Joslin Diabetes Center.

Allen-Hopson has been active her entire life, playing semipro basketball in the United Kingdom and going to cycling class at her local gym, but running was never part of her routine. That changed four years ago when a devastating disease hit close to home.

In 2008, Ray Allen's youngest son, Walker, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic disease in which a child's pancreas no longer produces the insulin needed to survive. Allen was by his son's side when he was hospitalized due to diabetic complications during the Celtics' 2008 champion run.

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