The Boston Celtics suffered a shocking defeat in the finale of their six-game road swing, but it was the loss of Kevin Garnett that was the team's most significant on the trip.

They're hoping an injury to Paul Pierce's thumb is much less of a concern, as they welcome a former All-Star to the club for his possible debut.

The Celtics hope to have Pierce in the lineup Friday night, and expect to have Stephon Marbury in uniform as they return home to face the Indiana Pacers, who have lost 11 of their last 12 on the road.

Boston (46-13) fell 90-85 on Feb. 19 at Utah, but the loss was easy to take compared with the loss of Garnett, who left with a strained right knee that will keep him out at least another week.

Pierce twice dislocated his right thumb in Wednesday's 93-91 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, once in the third quarter and later in the fourth. He went 7-of-19 while dealing with the injury.

"I dislocated it a couple of times, but the X-rays are negative, so it should be all right," Pierce said. "I don't know if it really affected me. I mean, it was definitely sore, but it was manageable. It's never happened to me before."

The Celtics signed Marbury on Friday after the former New York Knicks headache cleared waivers in the morning. He reported to Boston for a physical and was expected to be in uniform on Friday night.

"We are very excited to have a player of Stephon's caliber joining our team," Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said. "Our entire organization is confident in the belief that Stephon can play an important role in helping us to win another championship."

Brian Scalabrine, who had started in place of Garnett, strained his neck in a win over Denver on Monday and missed Wednesday's contest. Pierce had three of the Celtics' 20 turnovers against the Clippers.

"We were awful. We absolutely did not deserve to win that game," coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought we played slow all night, we pouted all night, we just thought we could show up and win a game - and we didn't."

Scalabrine will miss the game against Indiana (25-35) as he undergoes precautionary neurological testing. The injuries to Garnett and Scalabrine have made the addition of Mikki Moore, who accepted a buyout from Sacramento earlier this week, even more critical. Moore played 13 minutes off the bench Wednesday.

With Garnett down, Rajon Rondo has stepped up, averaging 21.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists in his last three games. Rondo had 16 points and a career-high 17 assists in Indiana's first visit to Boston, a 114-96 Celtics win on Dec. 3.

While Boston hopes Pierce's injury isn't serious, the Pacers are coping with the loss of their All-Star small forward. Danny Granger has missed Indiana's last four games and is expected to miss at least two more weeks with a partial tendon tear in his right foot.

The Pacers are also without Mike Dunleavy, who's likely done for the year with a sore right knee, but have won three of four. Jarrett Jack had 20 points Wednesday in Indiana's 104-99 win over Memphis a night after he had a career-high 33 in a loss at New York.

"I'm trying to do whatever is called for," Jack said. "I knew when we had Danny and Mike I could kind of take a reserve role because those guys can really score the basketball. ... But now that they went down I'm just trying to step up and fill the void."

The Pacers have lost five of six in the series, though the win - 95-79 in Indianapolis on Nov. 1 - was the Celtics' most lopsided loss this season.