NBA roundup: Celtics' Allen reportedly may sit out a game

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers told ESPN.com Tuesday he was considering sitting Ray Allen for a game during the Eastern Conference finals.

Rivers spoke of the dilemma in sitting Allen, who has played with bone spurs in his ankles and struggled as a result.

"It's a tough call with him," Rivers told ESPN.com. "We're trying to figure out a different minute rotation for him, maybe that will help him. We're even considering sitting him for a game, getting him a longer rest and then playing him, and then sitting him for a game. We don't know what the right thing is."

Allen went 1-for-7 on shooting and scored just six points in 39 minutes against in Game 1. He's averaging 9.6 points per game in the postseason, well below his career averages.

Allen came up big in Boston's Game 7 win over Philadelphia, when he drained a couple of three-pointers in the fourth quarter, despite struggling for most of the game.

"It's hard to watch at times," Rivers told ESPN.com. "The Philly game, Game 7, was a hard thing for me. Should I pull him? You're going back and forth, my staff all wanted me to pull him. You go with your gut and you keep him in and he makes back-to-back 3s."

---Miami Heat players responded in kind to the words of Boston Celtics' point guard Rajon Rondo, as they head into Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Rondo, frustrated with how easily Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had their way in Game 1, promised a more physical game on Wednesday. In particular, Rondo said "nothing dirty, but they have to hit the deck, too."

"I expect to be quote, unquote 'put on the deck' or whatever the case may be and then you go to the free throw line," James said. "I don't need to prepare for something I already think is going to happen every game."

Added Wade: "We're men just like they're men, we're not going to let anyone just come and punk us," Wade said. "That is not our mentality, to go out there and make people hit the deck."

---Jonas Valanciunas is negotiating to obtain a release agreement from his team in Lithuania, NBA.com reported, and that would be an important step in joining the Toronto Raptors.

The release agreement is part of the process Valanciunas must complete before he can pay the $2.4 million buyout to the team in Lithuania and sign with Toronto.

Valanciunas was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Raptors.