Fighting fatigue

Another cross-country journey likely to leave teams tired

Judging by the sloppy performances the Celtics and Lakers each displayed in Game 3 of the Finals, don’t expect tonight’s affair to be a thing of beauty.

After getting minimal sleep following Game 2 last Sunday night, traveling across the country Monday and stepping back on the court less than 48 hours later, each team looked sluggish and failed to establish any sustained rhythm. They followed the same routine after Game 5, only to lose three hours due to flying from west to east.

“It’s a terrible turnaround, nothing you can do about it,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “Hell, it’s a tough one. It’s as tough as you can have.”

The Celtics seemed to struggle more than the Lakers in Game 3, as they shot 34.9 percent from the floor in an 87-81 loss, which was the lowest scoring contest for each team in the Finals. Uncharacteristically, Rivers made his concerns public after that game, saying there were four to five instances when his players asked to be taken out due to fatigue.

As the series goes on, it won’t get any easier for the Celtics, who are older and much more battered than the Lakers.

Rajon Rondo is suffering from a bone bruise in his left ankle, and he has only averaged 16 minutes in the last two games. Kendrick Perkins, who strained his left shoulder in Game 4, didn’t play on Sunday and was called “doubtful” by Rivers when asked about his status for tonight’s action. And despite Paul Pierce’s 38-point effort two days ago, he played all 48 minutes on a balky knee that he’s aggravated twice in the series.

Each team left Los Angeles yesterday morning and was expected to land around 8 last night. Rivers said he was telling his players to rest as much as possible, and he was leaning toward canceling this morning’s shoot-around.

“Both teams have the same issue,” Rivers said, “so it could come down to a game of mental toughness, who fights the fatigue mentally better than the other group.”