Nobody was more puzzled about Pierce's "minutes-restriction" going out the window than I. However, there appears to be a reasonable explaination. Doctor's (not Doc's) orders:
He came into last night’s game against the Timberwolves with a recovering left foot (stress reaction) and left elbow (infection that required minor surgery and stitches Tuesday), and in the third quarter he suffered a strained left hip when Marko Jaric fouled him on a drive to the hoop.
Trainer Ed Lacerte told coach Doc Rivers he’d better start Pierce in the fourth because leaving him on the pine might leave him too tight to return later. So the captain went the entire final period, going 31:44 for the game (well past his 20-minute limitation), and finished with 29 points. After going a rusty 4-for-16 in his first game back Friday, Pierce made 9-of-16 shots from the floor (3-of-5 treys).
Â
“It’s just a little small strain in my left hip,†he said. “I might take a couple of days off, but it should be fine. I’ll be good for Wednesday. It just feels like the second day of training camp, but I’ll be all right. I didn’t pull it to the point where I can’t play on Wednesday.