Perkins steps up after dressing-down

Kendrick Perkins proved an intimidating presence inside yesterday, doing what he does best -- rebound.

In his best performance since returning from a dislocated left shoulder he suffered March 12 against Denver, Perkins had 14 rebounds and eight points in the Celtics' 101-97 loss to the Bulls at TD Banknorth Garden. He credited his big numbers not to feeling more comfortable on the floor, but to a dressing-down coach Doc Rivers delivered to the team after its loss at Cleveland Friday night.

''This game, I just put a whole lot of pressure on myself," said Perkins. ''I said I was going to come out just all-out.

''Doc was disappointed in me in the last game. I think I did a lot of pouting [against the Cavaliers], thinking too much offense. I was mad when I didn't get the ball in the block. He just had to tell me my role again, tell me what I do to help the team.

''I just had to come back and do it. I think Doc has high expectations for me. I just don't want to let him down."

If the choice of games on TV in the Boston locker room was any indication, the home team had Philadelphia on its mind before tipoff. The Celtics watched the early game long enough to see the Pacers blow out the Sixers, 92-79, at Conseco Fieldhouse, then switched to the UConn-George Mason game.

''It should give us more incentive [to see Philadelphia lose], but we've got to go out here and do our part, regardless of what they do," said Paul Pierce as he took in the Pacers-Sixers matchup out of the corner of his eye. ''We've got to try to string together some games right now. Every game is a tough game for us right now whether [the opponent] is above .500 or below .500.

''It ain't like we're a team that just walks over teams that are below .500. We're a team battling to be consistent. The more consistent we can be in these games, especially against teams that are ahead of us -- the Philadelphias and Chicagos -- we can make some progress moving toward the eighth spot."

The Celtics were not the only team in the building keeping a close eye on the Sixers. With a Philadelphia loss and its win, Chicago pulled within a game and a half of the No. 8 spot. Meanwhile, Boston is four games behind Philadelphia and 2 1/2 behind Chicago.

''We're in the hunt," said Bulls coach Scott Skiles. ''Fortunately, we play Boston twice. We play Philly twice. So, we have a chance to control some of this ourselves. The games where we can control it, we'd like to get wins. I'm sure the guys are aware [that Philadelphia lost]."

Funeral services for Rivers's father-in-law, William Campion, will take place today. As of game time, Rivers's travel plans were still somewhat in flux. He said he would travel back to Orlando either late last night or early today, though he was leaning toward flying down today. The Celtics will not practice this afternoon and resume workouts tomorrow in preparation for Wednesday's game at New York. ''We'll practice [tomorrow] and I should make it back by then," said Rivers . . . It's uncertain if Al Jefferson will participate in tomorrow's practice as planned. Jefferson reported feeling sore after workouts Saturday and yesterday morning. Rivers would prefer Jefferson take his time making his second comeback from a sprained right ankle. ''He'll do a workout [today] with some of the coaches," said Rivers. ''Maybe he'll practice [tomorrow]. If he practices, we'll just evaluate. If he doesn't practice, obviously, he's not going to play Wednesday [at New York]. Just thinking out loud, I think he should probably miss both days and the Wednesday game. Then we have two other days off. I think that would be smarter, in my opinion. We'll just see. If he feels great, he plays. I just think it's probably smarter where he gets five more days where he just misses one game." . . . Although Pierce said his sore left calf felt fine before the game, team massage therapist Vladimir Shulman did a considerable amount of work on the muscle during the second quarter. And as Shulman massaged the calf, Pierce could be seen wincing.