Aching Pierce in limbo

His aching body screaming at him to shut it down for the season, Paul Pierce stood surrounded by the media in the Celtics' locker room following Wednesday night's 105-96 double-overtime victory over the Orlando Magic and expressed uncertainty about whether he would be available for tonight's game at Philadelphia, let alone Boston's 10 remaining games. He traveled with the team to Philadelphia, and officials say he will be a game-time decision.

"I don't know, there were so many quarters tonight," Pierce chuckled wearily, referring to the 52 minutes 51 seconds he logged Wednesday, the most playing time he's had since returning Feb. 9 from a 24-game hiatus because of a stress reaction in his left foot.

"I'm delirious right now, man."

Perhaps it was from his game-high 32 points. He hit 11 of 26 field goals and missed his first six 3-point attempts before knocking one down to tie the score in overtime, 93-93. Or perhaps it was from the pain in Pierce's left elbow, which was surgically repaired last August and got whacked when he went hard to the basket early in the first quarter.

"Paul's a warrior, man," said Al Jefferson, who chipped in 23 points and 13 rebounds.

But how did Pierce knock down clutch shots at the end of regulation and OT?

"I don't know. It's just something in here that keeps pumping, I guess," Pierce said, thumping his chest.

Several times, coach Doc Rivers looked to take Pierce out, but the captain resisted. Asked if he came close to asking out, Pierce said, "Pretty close, but the game was so close that I hate to bail out on my team like that. But it was pretty close."

Pierce liked what he saw from the Celtics -- not only against the Magic but also in Monday's 95-87 win over the playoff-bound Toronto Raptors. He believes that effort bodes well for the future.

"This team is learning fast," Pierce said. "I'm glad I was able to come back from my injury and kind of provide my leadership and give some kind of direction. But these guys are coming along real good and they're stepping up in major ways."

As far as Pierce is concerned, the Celtics' recent performance is something to build on. With or without him.

"Regardless of what I do, whether I play or don't play the rest of the season, these last two weeks have given us confidence going into next year of what we're capable of doing with a healthy unit," Pierce said. "Next year with TA [Tony Allen] coming back, Wally [Szczerbiak] coming back, whatever we do with the draft, whatever we do with trades, with the core group we've got right here, it just shows what we're capable of, especially in the Eastern Conference.

"We feel like we can play with pretty much anybody. If Orlando is a playoff team and if Toronto is a playoff team, then we feel like we're pretty much there."

Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.