NEW YORK - The East and West coaches with the best winning percentage in their conference as of Feb. 3 earn the right of coaching in the NBA All-Star Game Feb. 17. Because of the Celtics' dominance, they were able to clinch the honor for Doc Rivers and his staff yesterday, long before the deadline.
The Celtics' 109-93 victory over the Knicks yesterday pushed their NBA-best record to 33-6, with five games to be played before Feb. 3. The second-best team in the East, Detroit, already had 12 losses as of yesterday.
Rivers is the sixth Celtics coach to earn the All-Star honor, the first since Chris Ford in 1991. So as not to overshadow yesterday's victory, Rivers addressed the honor in a statement.
"This is a fantastic honor for our team, our players, and our coaching staff," Rivers said. "We look forward to proudly representing the Eastern Conference at this year's All-Star Game. We will have fun, but we will be real competitive with the wonderful gathering of All-Stars from our conference."
Kevin Garnett, who is expected to be voted in as a starter, plus Paul Pierce and Ray Allen all have a good shot of joining Rivers and his staff for the game in New Orleans. Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck said a private jet was ordered for All-Star weekend about a week and a half ago for the Boston coaching staff and any players.
"We expected Doc to be on there and I told him I was happier than he probably knows for him and congratulated him," Grousbeck said.
Said Allen, "I'm happy for [Rivers]. That's an honor at the break of the season to be the talk of the first half of the season as the representative of the Eastern Conference. That's a great feeling to be associated with all the great players representing the league."
Posey sidelined
Celtics forward James Posey missed yesterday's game with a sprained index finger on his right hand. Posey said he sustained the injury during the four-game trip out West in late December. Asked if he would play tomorrow against Toronto, he said he was day-to-day. Posey also missed two games this season with lower back spasms and one game to suspension. "It's just one of those things," said Posey. "I have active hands, and you just reinjure it. I'm just trying to get it to settle down."Rondo returns
Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo returned to action after missing three of the past four games with a bruised back and a right hamstring injury. He had 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, and 4 steals in 28 minutes. Rondo said he didn't reinjure his back after taking a hard foul from 6-foot-11-inch, 285-pound Knicks center Eddy Curry in the third quarter. "My hamstring still has to get treatment," Rondo said. "That's still not 100 percent. But the fall didn't hurt my back or anything. I'm fine. I should have done some pushups."Remembering King
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was celebrated at yesterday's 12 NBA games, though New York coach Isiah Thomas said after a pregame interview session he was disappointed the media didn't ask him about King."To be able to perform at the level we perform at and to do what we are able to do in society wouldn't be possible without Dr. Martin Luther King," Allen said. "To be able to celebrate what he has done for this whole world in his lifetime and to have a legacy that lives in his death, every person should celebrate what he's done. This world is a better place because he lived in it."
Added Rivers, "I give it a lot of thought. The fact that we are playing in the afternoon tells you that it's an important day. That's nice. I always hope all our guys know and understand.
"I think everybody knows the 'I have a dream' [speech]. Everyone knows those words. I don't think everyone understands that he was far more than that speech.
"Just the nonviolent movement . . . if I could wish that one of his legacies was passed on, that was the one. I think young kids think you have to show toughness. To me, it's getting hit in the head with a stone and walking away from it more than turning around, picking it up, and throwing it back. That's what I talk to them about."
Marc J. Spears can be reached at spears@globe.com
