Paul Pierce appeared to sustain an injury in the first quarter of the Celtics vs. Hawks game in Atlanta. The Celtics star was involved in a collision with Atlanta forward Josh Smith, was whistled for a foul and limped to the bench.

via assets.sbnation.com

Pierce had played just over eight and a half minutes of the first quarter, going one for four on field goals and turning the ball over once. The Celtics were trailing 31-18 at the close of the first quarter, and would not be in any position to lose Pierce's contributions. Pierce averaged just under 20 points per game in the 2012 season, averaging more than five rebounds as well.

UPDATE: By the looks of it, the injury didn't slow Pierce down. Midway through the second quarter he appears to be moving well:

via assets.sbnation.com

That's good news for Celtics fans. As always, stay tuned to this story stream for updates.

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