Forward Tom Gugliotta was activated Thursday by the Boston Celtics, who put forward Justin Reed on the injured list with right knee tendinitis.

Gugliotta spent the last eight games on the injured list with a right ankle sprain. Earlier this season he was sidelined for five games with lower back pain.

Reed, a rookie, scored six points in seven appearances this season.

Tim Duncan remained undefeated against the Boston Celtics, as the Spurs were victorious by a final score of 107-90.

Duncan scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Rick Pitino's first season coincided with Duncan's and Pitino actually asked if he could postpone his decision until after the draft lottery of that year, but Paul Gaston essentially said, "Take my millions now or not at all."

Asked the reason behind the shortfall in effort, Rivers said, "If I could figure that out I could probably split an atom. I don't know. It could be a lot of reasons. It could be the three days (the Celtics had) off. Who knows why?"

Sources say that the Hawks are making Antoine Walker available and a host of Eastern Conference teams are interested, including the Sixers, Celtics and Pacers.

Sixers coach Jim O'Brien coached Walker when both parties were in Boston.

As strange as it might sound, Boston is a viable option for Walker.  Walker was upset when he was traded, but would welcome a return to Boston. "Antoine would be on a bus tonight. He'd walk here," said the source. "Boston has a chance to make the playoffs. Atlanta (5-20) has virtually none."

The Pacers are also interested, as they will play the remainder of the season without Ron Artest

After flagrantly fouling Heat guard Dwyane Wade, Boston Celtics guard Ricky Davis was ejected from the contest.
 
Wade stole the ball from Gary Payton and drove downcourt, with Davis racing down the opposite wing with 3:26 left in the third quarter.

As Wade leaped toward the basket, Davis pulled him down and sent him crashing to the court. Wade stayed down for a few brief moments, but got up and remained in the game.

Heat center Shaquille O'Neal will not play in Tuesday night's game against the Boston Celtics because of a calf injury.

O'Neal was injured in Sunday's win over Orlando, team spokesman Tim Donovan said. Michael Doleac was announced as the starter in O'Neal's place.

This should assure that O'Neal is healthy for the showdown at the Staples Center on Christmas Day.

According to Peter Vecsey of The New York Post, the Boston Celtics are now trying to renew acquaintances with ousted forward Antoine Walker.  

Although Walker leads the Hawks in scoring, they may be looking to unload as their chances at the playoffs this season are null.  Walker is in the final year of his contract that will pay him $14.625M for the season.  The Celtics would have to come up with a package within 15% (plus 100G) or roughly $12M to make the deal.  A No. 1 pick or two would also sweeten the deal for the Hawks.

While it is unclear why Celtics Executive Director of Basketball Operations, Danny Ainge wants Walker back after unloading him two summers ago, the deal does seem very possible.

The Boston Celtics were one of the team's that competed with the New Jersey Nets for Vince Carter.

"I inquire about everything that's available," director of basketball operations Danny Ainge said before Friday night's 114-106 win against Utah. "We talked to them, but they didn't want what we were talking about. There was nothing to be done."

The final deal, which sent Carter for Alonzo Mourning, former Celts forward Eric Williams, Aaron Williams and two first-round draft picks, seemed beneficial for the Nets.

"I think it's a hell of a trade for New Jersey," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "Vince is a hell of a player. He has not played well over the last eight or nine months, but we know it's in him. You know, Richard Jefferson, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter...I don't particularly like that lineup. They shouldn't be allowed that. I hope somebody flunks a physical."

The Celtics placed forward Tom Gugliotta on the injured list with a very mild right ankle sprain on Wednesday and activated rookie Justin Reed.
   
"I was sitting on the bench in the Clipper game when we went small, and we were one foul away from no more smalls," said Rivers. "I was thinking Justin may have helped us in that game, and we didn't have him (activated). That was scary for me."

Gugliotta is taking it well for now.
   
"No one wants to be on (the injured list)," he said. "You want to be able to play. Even if you are a little banged up, you want to fight through it and play. It's a long season. You never know. You've just got to be ready."

The Boston Celtics needed two overtimes to defeat the Clippers by a final score of 134-127.

Ricky Davis scored 34 points for the Celtics, with 7 of the points coming in the second overtime.

Corey Maggette had a career high 38 points to lead all scorers.

Gary Payton was back in his hometown of Oakland on Monday night, and after spending his entire life on the West Coast, Oakland, Seattle and L.A., he is undoubtedly comfortable there. But his agent stresses that Payton has enjoyed his Boston tenure more than he expected.

"He likes the players more than he expected to," said Aaron Goodwin, a local guy himself. "He likes the city more than he expected to. He still wants to integrate himself into the Celtics system more, and he'd definitely like to see them win some of those close games that they're losing. But he's definitely much happier than I thought he'd be. And that's been great for me, because Gary and I go back 25 years and I want to make sure that he's happy at the end of the day."

Asked if it's possible Payton might remain with the Celtics after his contract expires this season, Goodwin said, "Oh, absolutely. If the team keeps improving and he keeps adjusting to playing in the East, he's open to it. We haven't had any discussions about it, but I don't see a reason why he wouldn't be content to continue playing there.

"I think his family's a big issue. I think being on the West Coast is going to be a big issue. I think this road swing is going to do a lot to make him think about being here in the West. He's going to be seeing a lot of family and friends while the Celtics are out here. I think that's going to put some pressures on him, and I just told him to go with it and we'll talk about it afterward."