INQUIRER Sports

BOSTON, Massachusetts?The short-handed Boston Celtics, missing three injured starters, still managed to snap a three-game losing streak on Saturday with 103-96 NBA victory over Toronto.

Ray Allen scored 23 points and Rasheed Wallace added 16 for the Celtics, who ended Toronto's five-game winning streak.

Paul Pierce missed a fifth straight game after having two medical procedures to treat an infection in his right knee. Kevin Garnett was sidelined for his second straight game with a sore right knee, and Rajon Rondo was nursing a sore left hamstring.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers joked before the game that he might have to suit up and play.

Rivers's makeshift lineup had Allen at point guard and little used reserve Lester Hudson playing significant minutes in the fourth quarter. JR Giddens made his first professional start.

Even so, Boston had seized an 83-71 lead with less than 10 minutes to play on Hudson's jump shot.

Toronto twice narrowed the gap to five points, but could get no closer.

Tony Allen added 14 points, seven assists, and five rebounds for the Celtics. Glen Davis had 15 points and Kendrick Perkins, one of two regular starters in the lineup, had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Chris Bosh led Toronto with 25 points and nine rebounds. Andrea Bargnani had 21 points and Jarrett Jack had 14 points and seven assists.

Pierce said before the game that he expected to be back at practice on Monday.

"As long as the swelling continues to go down," Pierce said. "It goes down every day. It seems like every day there's some improvement. I don't want to go out and hobble around and try and force it. I want to get back when I'm ready."

Rivers said he wasn't sure when to expect to have Pierce back.

"Like I've said earlier with infections, we don't know how to treat that," he said. "We've never had that. Paul's 50-50 to practice on Monday."

Rivers said he expected it to be "around 10 days" before Garnett returned to practice.