League fires back at Taylor

Minnesota owner lashed for comments

DALLAS - An NBA official said last night the league called Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor and chastised him for recent comments about Kevin Garnett. Taylor, however, was not fined.

Speaking to Minneapolis reporters Tuesday, Taylor said Garnett "tanked it" the last five games of the 2006-07 season while his teammates "still wanted to play." Taylor's comments came after he was asked about his franchise having a reputation for tanking games in recent seasons to aid its draft position. Garnett missed the last five games of last season with a sore right quadriceps.

Garnett took the high road Tuesday, saying Taylor was good to him and it was not in his character to go "back and forth saying tasteless things." The first-year Celtic played in Minnesota from 1995-2007 and is the franchise's career leader in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals. He was the league MVP in 2004. Despite Taylor's accusation, Garnett is widely viewed as the most intense player in the NBA.

When asked after last night's 94-90 win over the Mavericks about Taylor being reprimanded, Garnett again took the high road and was more focused on his team earning a rare accomplishment of beating San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas in consecutive games.

"I have no comments about that," Garnett said. "It was a great win for us. I'm glad I'm a part of this big history moment. There is a saying in [Japan], sayonara."

Tony Allen sidelined

Tony Allen missed last night's victory with a lower back bruise suffered Tuesday at Houston. Allen is rehabilitating with ice, electrical stimulation, and massages but still has pain when he walks fast. Even so, he is holding out hope to return for tomorrow's game at New Orleans.

"My back's sore, real tight," Allen said. "It's not as tight as it was, as sore as it was. But the [pain] is still up there. The tailbone is bruised and there is tightness around it."

The Celtics were 7-2 when Garnett was out with an abdominal strain and 6-1 without Ray Allen, who scored 21 points in his return last night. But considering two of the three All-Stars, including Paul Pierce, have played in all but one game together this season, the Celtics have been able to find success when one is out.

"We still have two, that helps, and the guys have good confidence to run our stuff," Rivers said. "The one thing that we've done a good job of is when one of them goes out, we haven't changed how we play. The only time we actually thought about it, or I actually thought about it, was when Kevin was out.

"We had to think about changing our styles defensively, and especially offensively, and we didn't. In retrospect, I'm glad. Sometimes the best move you make is not making a move."

Center square

Coach Doc Rivers has a defined playing rotation that will be intact throughout the playoffs and includes a center by committee. Outside of Boston's starters, guards Sam Cassell, Eddie House, and Tony Allen, and forward James Posey are solid parts of the rotation. But once starting center Kendrick Perkins goes out, Rivers will go with P.J. Brown, Leon Powe, or Glen "Big Baby" Davis based on the matchup.

"That again will be by committee all year, all through the playoffs," said Rivers. "There are certain matchups [that work better than others]. For example, in the Houston game I put P.J. in and right when he went in, I knew it was the wrong game, quick game, energy game. When I took him out the rest of the game, I went with 'Baby' and Leon instead of P.J. and Leon or P.J. and 'Baby.'

"So that's what's going to happen. One series might fit [Brown] and one series might fit 'Baby.' Leon is almost game to game with what they're going to give you."

Military honors

The Celtics will host 300 members of the United States Armed Services and their families for Monday's game against the Sixers in the "Seats for Soldiers" program. Seats for Soldiers allows fans to donate their tickets to members of the armed services. The soldiers will be honored during the second quarter during "Heroes Among Us."

"We are extremely thankful to the Boston Celtics and their fans for giving troops the opportunity to go to a game this year," Major Kurt O'Rourke of the Army said in a statement. "Everyone is thrilled to have tickets to the game and is extremely appreciative of the generosity all these fans have shown."

Marc J. Spears can be reached at mspears@globe.com.