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Gordon story takes on life of its own

BOSTON - Maybe this is a sign that the Bulls-Celtics playoff series has captured the nation's attention: About 90 minutes before the start of Tuesday's Game 5, Ben Gordon strolled onto the court to test his injured left hamstring.

He was trailed by about 15 media members and when he took his first flat-footed shots at the rim, four television cameras recorded his every move. Gordon's health status was also one of the lead stories all day on ESPN.

After shooting for about 20 minutes, Gordon consulted with trainer Fred Tedeschi and tried a little serpentine dribbling. Inside the locker room, Gordon's health update drew such a crowd, Tedeschi asked a media relations representative to break it up.

Gordon didn't have much to say. He waited until reporters left to tell coach Vinny Del Negro that he'd try to play. Del Negro was concerned Gordon could do more damage to the hamstring by playing.

"It can get worse," Del Negro said. "I know he's in pain and hopefully he can fight through it. If he can't, he'll let me know and we'll try to be smart about it.

"I thought about (saving Gordon for Game 6) and talked about it, but I don't think this is something that all of the sudden in 48 hours is going to feel that much better. It's going to take some time."

Gordon hit just 2 of 11 first-half field goals, but he ended up playing 51 minutes and scored 26 points. He finished 6 of 21 from the field.

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