Teammates believe ejection the end of it

Although very few Boston players remained when the locker room opened last night, those who did thought they would take the floor with Antoine Walker tomorrow night in Game 4.

Walker was ejected with 4 minutes 6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 3 after picking up his second technical foul following a scuffle with Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal. In the process, he shoved aside official Tom Washington. For the most part, the Celtics were trying to move past the incident.

"It's over with, whatever," said Gary Payton. "Now we've got to go on. We can't go back and bring time back. So, it's over with."

Added Raef LaFrentz: "I thought Antoine wanted to make sure the ball stayed on the ground, that it didn't get up on the rim for a potential 3-point play. I think that's all that was going on. [O'Neal] took exception to it like he'd been doing on the previous two or three fouls. And what happened, happened. But I know Antoine didn't throw a punch, didn't make a shove."

Walker made it clear several times that he did not want to talk about his ejection. Any time he was asked about what happened with O'Neal, he simply said, "Next question." When one reporter persisted and asked if he was worried about a possible suspension, Walker said, "I don't want to talk about it. I'm not worried about it. You suspend me if you want to. I'm not worried about that."

Walker threatened to walk away if questions about the incident continued. "I'm not frustrated," he said. "I'm not mad. It's just a play."

On the other hand
While Pacers coach Rick Carlisle figures he has had to give more injury updates during the course of the regular season than any coach in NBA history, Doc Rivers mentioned before the game that Celtics sixth man Ricky Davis was a little banged up. Davis was still struggling with the left index finger he jammed at the end of the regular season. Throughout the series, he has had the finger taped to his middle finger. He scored only 4 points last night on 2-for-10 shooting.

"The guys feel good, but Ricky's hand has been bothering him," Rivers said before the game. "He's been hurting for a while now. So, that's a concern."

Meanwhile, the Pacers were dealing with an injury to starter and scoring threat Stephen Jackson. After being hit late in Game 2, Jackson had a sore left knee that limited his ability to practice. He was still able to play 33 minutes, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds.

"I'm not going to worry about it," said Jackson before the game. "Yeah, it does [affect me], but I'm going to go 110 percent. If I'm trying to cut somebody off and it hurts, I'll pull up, run back down, and deal with it. But it's something I've got to deal with and I'm not going to sit here and complain about it, or even sit here and think about it a lot. I'm just going to go ahead and play and deal with it. Hopefully, y'all won't ask me about it no more."

Everybody hurts
It's well known O'Neal is still bothered by a sprained right shoulder. "We know [O'Neal] is not going to be 100 percent, even if we end up in the NBA Finals," said Carlisle. "He knows that, too. But he's not going to complain about it. He's just going to play." O'Neal finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 35 minutes. Jamaal Tinsley was shooting around during pregame warmups, but was coy when asked whether he might be ready for Game 6 or 7, if the series should last that long. "It's going all good," said Tinsley. "I just don't want to go out there and rush it. I'm just trying to take it one day at a time. I hoped to heal quick, but it's been frustrating." . . . There is some humorous, old NBA footage floating around Indianapolis that shows Rivers going after Pacers guard Reggie Miller back in 1989. Rivers, who was playing for the Hawks at the time, gave his version of events yesterday. "Well, he [ticked] me off and my back was hurting," said Rivers. "I knew I couldn't finish the game and [Atlanta coach] Mike Fratello was about to take me out and I told him I could go for one more possession, so I guess it was premeditated. I just choked him. I didn't choke him that long. I let him go. I could have kept choking. It wasn't one of my better moments." . . . Rivers yesterday saw tape of Ron Artest giving Miller some defensive advice. Asked if he saw a future for Artest as an NBA coach, Rivers said, "As a defensive coach, maybe. He's the best defending small in our league."