WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) - Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce practiced without difficulty Sunday and was cleared to play in Game 2 of the NBA finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. Center Kendrick Perkins said he would start as well.

``I'm not that concerned about Paul. I really am not,'' coach Doc Rivers said before the game. ``He played one-on-one this morning and he looked good, so he's not a concern to me much at all. I think he'll be fine tonight.''

Pierce wore a white sleeve over his knee as he played pickup with Sam Cassell at the end of Sunday morning's shootaround at the team's practice facility. Rivers said Pierce showed no ill-effects of the right knee sprain that sent him to the locker room in a wheelchair during Game 1.

Pierce does not talk to the media after game-day shootarounds, Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said. Pierce was in the training room before the game and unavailable for comment.

Center Kendrick Perkins, who sprained his ankle in Boston's 98-88 victory in Game 1, said before the game that he will play.

``I'm going,'' he said in the locker room about 50 minutes before tipoff.

Perkins did nothing more strenuous than shoot free throws at the shootaround and will be a game-time decision for Game 2.

``There's just no reason to push him,'' Rivers said. ``With an ankle, it's going to swell up. Let him swell up after the game instead of now.''

If Perkins can't play, P.J. Brown would take his place in the starting lineup.

``I'm going to give him a chance, obviously. I think we just wait and see and watch,'' Rivers said before the game. ``He could actually be healthy sometimes, or any of them, and get beat off the dribble, and the key is you don't overreact to it. And so, you know, it's going to just be with eyes and feel with both guys.''

Both players responded well to the extra day of rest between the first two games of the best-of-seven series, Rivers said.

``I like the every other day rotation,'' Rivers said. ``But in this case, we needed the extra day.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.