Celtics get a gift from Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao, arguably the most well-known boxer in the world, sent each Celtics player a red, autographed boxing glove. The gloves appeared in the players' lockers before tonight's game.
Ray Allen pleaded ignorance to where the gloves came from, as did Doc Rivers.
"There's no message," said Rivers. "It magically appeared. I don't know how this stuff is getting in the locker room. It obviously wasn't from me. Pacquiao is obviously a huge Celtics fan.
Rivers said Pacquiao tried to get into the Celtics' walkthrough before they played the Lakers in Los Angeles, but the boxer didn't make it. The Celtics, if you remember, spent some time with the Pacman in Las Vegas after he knocked out David Diaz in June of 2008. Of course, just days earlier the Celtics knocked out the Lakers in the NBA Finals.
- Gary Washburn, NBA writer
- Baxter Holmes, Celtics beat writer
- Gary Dzen, Boston.com senior sports producer