PHILADELPHIA -- Soon, Aaron McKie figures he'll have plenty of time to rest.

For now, he must drag his tired, beaten-up body out of bed and onto the court for as long as his Philadelphia 76ers battle the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.

	Aaron McKie suffered a chip fracture in his right ankle during Game 1.

"I'm not trying to save myself for next season or the summer. I'm not concerned about that," said McKie, who, despite developing a new affliction -- fatigue -- to go with a broken right ankle, will play in Game 4 on Wednesday. "I'll let my body heal this summer."

McKie's fuel gauge was reading close to empty after the Sixers dropped Game 3 to the Lakers on Sunday night. He didn't feel so hot the next morning, so he sought out team doctor Brad Fenton, who took blood samples from McKie to see if he was suffering from fatigue.

On Tuesday, McKie was given intravenous fluids to replenish his lost energy.

"Everything is OK," McKie said during the Sixers' practice at the Spectrum. "I guess it was just my muscles getting fatigued and my body wearing down."

Guarding Kobe Bryant will do that to you. The last two games, McKie has had to chase the Lakers' superstar guard with a chip fracture in his right ankle, logging 40 and then 42 minutes. The injury occurred during the Sixers' 107-101 overtime win in Game 1.

"He's been through hell," Allen Iverson said. "Everybody talks about him having to guard Reggie (Miller) and Vince (Carter) and Ray Allen, but I feel his toughest assignment was trying to guard Glenn Robinson. That's a guy who's so much bigger than him, taller than him and bigger, he had to wrestle with him on the post a lot. That took a lot out of him."

McKie's declining health is starting to show in the boxscore. After averaging 16.3 points a game against Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference finals, McKie has scored 9, 14 and 5 points against the Lakers while shooting just 11-of-32 from the field (34.8 percent).

And don't expect McKie to sacrifice his body with painkillers. He flatly stated that he's "not a medicine guy."

"Sometimes, you got to block the pain out -- or whatever you're going through -- get on the floor and just try to make it happen out there," McKie said.

"I don't like taking pills. I really don't like treatment -- they tried to make me wear a boot (on his right foot) -- I like to let my body heal. If I'm hurt to the point where I can't walk or can't play, then I won't play. But other than that, I'm going to give it a go. I'm going to try."

Right now, that's about all he can do.