Allen is doubtful with pinched nerve

Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen has a pinched nerve in his neck and is doubtful for tonight’s home game against the Charlotte Bobcats, Coach Doc Rivers said.

“It’s not anything that’s going to last,” Rivers said after practice Tuesday in Waltham, Mass., adding that he expects Allen to play Friday at New Jersey. “It’s a pinched nerve; it is what it is. From my understanding, it’s day to day.”

Allen, averaging 18 points, doesn’t know how he was hurt. He said he has been experiencing soreness in his right shoulder, tingling in his arm and numbness in his fingers for several days.

The Celtics also could be without forward Glen Davis (sore knee) against the Bobcats.

The Miami Heat won’t get center Shaquille O’Neal back for at least a week while he receives treatment in Los Angeles for a hip injury that has sidelined him for six games.

O’Neal had an MRI exam Monday, and Coach Pat Riley said it revealed only “soft tissue and that kind of stuff, the inflammation and stuff. The initial reports on the test and things like that have been positive.”

O’Neal bruised his left hip on Dec. 22 against Utah while diving for a loose ball and crashing into the scorer’s table. The injury flared up on Dec. 26 against Philadelphia.

Sidelined since Dec. 23, leading scorer Tracy McGrady will be checked out by the Houston Rockets’ medical staff Thursday to determine when he can return from his left knee injury. He has strained tendons, tendinitis and a bone bruise in the knee.