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WALTHAM, Mass. - The Boston Celtics weren't concerned when Kevin Garnett missed his second straight practice for family reasons Friday.

They know he'll suit up when it counts, in their playoff opener against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night.

"Even though he's away, he's tuned in to what we're doing," Paul Pierce said. "We're not worried because we know he'll be fine when he gets back."

The Celtics gave no details of Garnett's absence, but the Boston Globe and Boston Herald reported that sources said his wife had a baby.

You want him to be around, but he's taking care of personal matters," Pierce said.

Practice was quieter Thursday and Friday without Garnett's vocal leadership. The Celtics didn't seem to miss it during the season, going 7-2 when he was sidelined with an abdominal strain.

"We played extremely well when he was out," point guard Rajon Rondo said, "and that's the way we approached it today."

Rivers expected Garnett to show up at the practice facility Friday night to review plans for the Hawks series, meet with the team's video personnel and walk through plays his teammates practiced.

Garnett went to the playoffs eight times in his 12 seasons with Minnesota and got past the first round once, in 2003-04 when the Timberwolves lost in the Western Conference finals to the Los Angeles Lakers.

He has a good chance to get to the Eastern Conference finals with the Celtics, who had the NBA's best record.

"He's ready. He came up short the last opportunity he had," said Boston guard Sam Cassell, who won titles with Houston in his first two pro seasons and was Garnett's teammate in 2003-04.

Boston (66-16) had 29 more wins this season than Atlanta (37-45) and held the Hawks below 90 points in each of the teams' three meetings, all Celtics wins.

Garnett exceeded his season averages in those games with 23.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and a 62.5 percent shooting percentage.

"They'll be hungry," Pierce said. "I think guys are looking to make a name for themselves. Joe Johnson is a great player."

Johnson, a former Celtics draft choice, led the Hawks with 21.7 points per game, but Boston coach Doc Rivers also is concerned about point guard Mike Bibby, who averaged 14.1 points in 33 games since Atlanta traded for him.

"Having Bibby changes them," Rivers said. "He directs things and he knows (playoff basketball). He can take over a game. So can Joe Johnson. (Al) Horford has been a great rookie for them."

The Hawks are in the playoffs for the first time since 1999 and the Celtics are heavily favored. Garnett could take part in Saturday's practice.

"When Kevin's here, our defensive intensity is always tops," Rivers said. "Today at practice, it wasn't, but the guys were able to pick it up themselves during the practice. It was something I was proud to see."

He doesn't mind that the Celtics won't play until Sunday in the last playoff series to start. Their regular-season ended Wednesday.

"We'd rather be playing now," Rivers said. "We're ready to play, but because of the Kevin situation, the extra day helps."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Nov. 10 (AP) -- The Boston Celtics won one for Doc Rivers and sent the New Jersey Nets a message in the process.

Hours after attending the funeral of his father in Illinois, Rivers saw the new-look Celtics remain the NBA's only undefeated team and personally show the Nets they are the team to beat in the Atlantic Division with an impressive 112-101 win on Saturday night.

"A long day for me. A tough day for me,'' said Rivers, clad in a dark suit and tie. "I was going to stay at home and my mom said 'Go to the game.' That's what my dad would want. It's still very emotional. I needed this probably more than anybody. I told them that after the game.' '

The victory was the fifth straight for Boston, which is off to its best start since winning six in a row to start the 1987-88 season. That was the last time the trio of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish got to the Eastern Conference finals.

Boston's new big three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen put on another impressive performance against the Nets (4-2).

Pierce, who was scoreless in the first quarter, had 13 of his 28 in the third when Boston turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 21-point margin. Allen added 27 points and Garnett had 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Rivers had told the team on Friday that he did not know whether he would return after attending the funeral of Grady Alexander Rivers Sr., in Mayfield, Ill.

However, the coach walked into the locker room about 75 minutes before the game.

"It was a great boost of confidence,'' Pierce said. "It was a tough situation for him. He could have easily not come. It definitely brought my spirits up when I looked up and I saw him.''

Garnett said having Rivers back gave the team a shot of energy.

"It was a great example,'' Garnett said. "Everybody perked up like little kids when their pops comes through the door. It was a cool moment.''

While the Celtics have become a scoring machine with their new lineup, they also showed they could play defense, holding New Jersey without a field goal for more than eight minutes in the decisive third quarter.

"It's one game,'' said Richard Jefferson, who led the Nets for the sixth straight game with 28 points. "We're not going to play our best ball now. Right now, they are on a roll. They are not going to go undefeated. I will stand by that.''

Vince Carter added 17 before leaving late in the third quarter with a sprained right ankle. Jason Kidd added 17 points, 12 assists and six rebounds.

The Nets trailed by 23 points early in the fourth quarter and never got closer than eight points.

Eddie House added 13 points and Celtics rookie Glen Davis also made a major contribution with six points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes when the game was on the line.

New Jersey got off to a fast start, shooting 67 percent from the field in the first quarter.

Boston took the lead for good midway through the second quarter when Pierce converted a three-point play to ignite a 13-5 spurt. House, a former Nets player was booed when he entered the game, added a 3-pointer in the run, Davis put in a rebound, Kendrick Perkins scored in the lane and Pierce capped the run nailing a wide-open 3-pointer for a 52-45 lead.

The third quarter was all Boston. Pierce hit a layup and scored seven points in a 13-3 spurt to start the period. New Jersey missed its first nine shots and didn't score a basket until Carter drove the lane for a layup with 3:39 left in the period.

A little more than two minutes later Carter was gone. The eight-time All Star drove the lane for a big slam dunk with 1:23 to play. His left foot came down but his right foot rolled after landing on Pierce's foot. He limped off.

Notes: Nets C Nenad Krstic had the misfortune to have a rebound slip out of his hands and go into his own basket. Perkins got credit. ... Garnett got a technical for arguing a call. ... Boston outrebounded New Jersey 49-34. ... Boston F Brian Scalabrine was released from a Massachusetts hospital after being held overnight because of a concussion suffered late in Friday night's game.


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BOSTON, Nov. 9 (AP) -- Kevin Garnett had 27 points and 19 rebounds, Paul Pierce scored 23 and the Boston Celtics beat the Atlanta Hawks 106-83 Friday night, their third blowout win of a season in which they're off to their best start in 20 years.

The Celtics took the lead for good midway through the second quarter, stretched it to 17 points early in the third and led by between 8 and 23 the rest of the way.

Their 4-0 record is their best opening since 1987-88 when they won their first six games, finished with 52 wins and went on to the Eastern Conference finals, the last time the trio of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish got there.

Now the Celtics have a new Big Three that is quickly leaving behind the bad memories of last season's 24-58 record, the second worst in club history.

Garnett had six assists and posted his fourth double-double of the season when he picked off his 10th rebound in the first minute of the second quarter. He had 66 in 76 games for Minnesota last season.

Boston's third star, Ray Allen, scored 14 points. Another newcomer, Eddie House, came off the bench to score 19, hitting four of five 3-pointers.

Atlanta's two wins this season were against teams that won at least 60 games last season, Dallas and Phoenix. The Hawks led 31-30 before Allen's short jumper gave Boston the lead for good and began an 11-2 run that made it 41-33 with 4:49 left in the second quarter.

The Hawks cut that to 47-39 but the Celtics finished the half with an 8-2 spurt in which Pierce had six points.

Atlanta came back again, trimming the lead to 67-59 with 2:42 left in the third quarter. But the Celtics answered by outscoring the Hawks 19-9 and taking an 86-68 lead with 8:08 remaining.

Garnett started that rally with a short turnaround jumper, House hit a 3-pointer and Garnett sank two free throws before Marvin Williams' tip drew the Hawks to 74-61 at the end of the third.

With Boston leading 79-66, Garnett sank another turnaround and Allen made a 14-footer. Josh Smith countered with a jumper for Atlanta, but House ended the run with another 3-pointer.

The Celtics resumed the sharpshooting they displayed in their 119-93 win over Denver on Wednesday night when they made 64.5 percent of their shots, their best since Nov. 24, 1993. On Friday night, they hit 61.2 percent while holding the Hawks to 42.9.

The Celtics dominated in other categories. They outrebounded the Hawks 39-29 and had 30 assists to 17 for Atlanta.

BOSTON, Nov. 7 (AP) -- Hard to believe, but Boston's newest Big Three thinks it can play even better.

Paul Pierce scored 26 points, Kevin Garnett added 23 points and 13 rebounds, and the Celtics shot 72 percent during an overpowering first half en route to a 119-93 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

"We are just scratching the surface on what we can do,'' Pierce said. "We enjoy seeing the next player make a great play and no one cares who gets credit.''

Boston improved to 3-0 overall and has won both its home games by an average of 24 points. Ray Allen scored 22 points and is shooting 63 percent since joining the Celtics.

"They (Garnett, Pierce and Allen) like each other,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "They've all decided that they don't need anything individually and it is all about what's best for the team.''

The Celtics barely broke a sweat in building a 77-38 halftime lead. Boston had multiple uncontested layups, dunks and an array of dazzling passes, outrebounded Denver 25-9 and dominated essentially every statistic on the box score.

Allen Iverson led the Nuggets with 22 points, but Carmelo Anthony was held to only 11 on 3-of-13 shooting. Denver dropped an emotional game on Tuesday in New York, 119-112, after blowing a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and has lost three straight overall.

"It's a game we never had a shot in,'' Iverson said. "They jumped right on us and we were never able to take care of business.''

Iverson appeared to be the only Nuggets player fazed by the huge early deficit. After Eduardo Najera picked up a technical early in the second quarter with Denver trailing 50-25, Iverson barked to referee Scott Wall, "We're down 25, isn't that enough?''

Rivers returned for Boston after missing a game due to the death of his father.

"Doc has been preaching to us about repetition,'' Garnett said. "We knew Denver could put up 150 points if they wanted to, but we want to be known as a defensive team.''

Garnett, who also chipped in with seven assists, gave Boston its biggest lead of the game at 91-50 when he converted an alley-oop dunk from Pierce with 4:30 left in the third quarter.

Boston shot 65 percent for the game and has won 16 of the last 18 home games against the Nuggets.

Boston jumped ahead 38-22 after the first quarter behind 28 points from the trio of Garnett, Allen and Pierce. The Celtics extended the lead to 47-22 with a 9-0 run to begin the second quarter.

"I don't remember getting down by that much even on the bad teams in Toronto,'' Nuggets center Marcus Camby said.

Boston recorded its franchise high of 85 points in a half two separate times, both against the Nuggets.

Notes: San Antonio has the NBA record for highest field goal percentage in a game, shooting .707 against Dallas on April 16, 1983. ... Camby had only eight rebounds after totaling 70 through the first four games. ... Kenyon Martin had four fouls in the first half. ... Celtics forward James Posey and Nuggets forward Nene left the game with injuries and did not return.

In the BOSTON GLOBE, Peter May writes “two days after the death of his father, Celtics coach Doc Rivers was back at practice yesterday. He'll be courtside tonight for the game against the Nuggets and also for Friday's game against Atlanta. In between, he said, he will try to get back to his family in Chicago before Saturday's funeral. Rivers missed the Celtics' overtime victory against Toronto Sunday. Rivers said he would charter a plane to Chicago after the Atlanta game so he can attend the funeral service.”

In the GLOBE AND MAIL, Michael Grange writes “It took nine seconds for the crowd at the Air Canada Centre to turn November into May. It was a long way to overtime in Sunday afternoon's game between the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics, but that didn't stop the sellout crowd of 19,800 from breaking out the 'Let's go, Raptors' chant, a staple of last year's brief playoff run. Even the Celtics' Kevin Garnett noticed.”

TORONTO, Nov. 4 (AP) -- Ray Allen made the winning 3-pointer with less than 3 seconds to play, and finished with 33 points in the Boston Celtics' 98-95 overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

Kevin Garnett scored 10 of his 23 points in overtime and added 13 rebounds, giving him double-doubles in both of his games for Boston this season.

Paul Pierce added 13 points for Boston (2-0), and James Posey had 11. T.J. Ford led Toronto (2-1) with 32 points, and Chris Bosh had 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The Celtics played without head coach Doc Rivers, who left Toronto early Sunday after his father died in Chicago. Assistant Tom Thibodeau took over for Rivers.

Ford tied it at 95 on a 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds left in overtime, but Allen won it with a 3 from the corner on Boston's final possession.

Allen, who made 11 of 16 shots, passed 17,000 points for his career.

Boston held a 11-point lead after three quarters before Toronto rallied behind Bosh. His basket made it 78-76 with under 1 minute left. Ford tied the game at 78 with a lay-up with 27 seconds left.

Pierce had a chance to win the game in regulation but his jumper from just outside the top of the key went wide, sending the game into overtime.

Allen scored 13 first-quarter points as Boston built a 23-14 lead. The Celtics led 38-31 at the half.

Notes: Toronto forward Joey Graham (strained left quad) was placed on the inactive list before the game. Graham, who is listed as day-to-day, was replaced by forward Jamario Moon. ... Bosh and Andrea Bargnani combined to miss all 12 of their field goal attempts in the first half.

TORONTO (AP) — Celtics coach Doc Rivers left the team before Boston's game Sunday against the Raptors after his father died in Chicago.

The Celtics said Rivers left Toronto on Sunday morning. Grady Alexander Rivers Sr. was 76. There was no immediate word on the cause of death.

Assistants Tom Thibodeau and Armond Hill handled the coaching duties in Rivers' absence.

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