Rondo sprains ankle in defeat

Rajon Rondo's right ankle sprain was serious enough for him to exit early in the second half of the Celtics' 104-97 exhibition loss to the New York Knicks last night. But the injury was described as "mild" and Rondo could be available when the Celtics host the New Jersey Nets at TD Banknorth Garden tomorrow.

"I'm cool, nothing major," Rondo said. "I'll just get some treatment and see how it is."

Asked if he would be playing if a regular-season game was scheduled, Rondo replied, "Yeah, probably so. I really don't even know [the cause of the injury]. I stepped sideways and came down on my ankle wrong. It was all me."

Immediately after Rondo departed, the Knicks went on a 20-8 run, taking an 81-70 lead on Nate Robinson's free throw with 41 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Celtics produced only two field goals in a 9:02 span of the quarter.

"Rondo makes the team go," Kevin Garnett said. "But we do have guys like Eddie House and Sam Cassell with veteran leadership who can come in and run the team also. [Rondo] is a big part of the team and he does affect the game in more ways than one."

The game was the Celtics' first at the Garden since the NBA Finals in June.

"I love playing here," Garnett said. "I love the atmosphere, I love the people. The fans' energy. Everybody seems to be tuned in to what we're doing here."

House scored 27 points and was 7 for 11 on 3-pointers.

"Just taking shots that they give me," he said. "They were laying off on the pick-and-roll. Guys were setting picks when I came off and there was really nobody there to contest the shot. So, I was taking my shot and just hitting it. I'm getting good looks. When you're getting good looks, you've just got to keep taking them no matter what. You might go 3 for 10 or you might go 3 for 12, some nights you might go 8 for 12. The only way you know you're going to make the shot is if you take it.

"Our offense, anybody can get a shot at any time, especially if we move the ball around. They've got to pick their poison how they're going to guard everybody."

Magic words

Magic Johnson explained earlier this week why he criticizes players on the air, citing an example involving Garnett.

"I remember Kevin Garnett, people got mad at me [years ago] because I said, 'He's got to take over the game at the end. He has to be the man. He can't defer to anybody,' " Johnson said during a teleconference Monday, announcing his hiring as a studio analyst by ESPN. "So Kevin called me the next day, when everyone thought I was attacking him, and said, 'Thank you, man, I'm going to go to work on that right after the season.' And he did that. So when you point out something, it's not that you're attacking anybody, you want them to be the best player they can possibly be."

Said Garnett last night, "I remember him making some comments and really feeling they were unjust. But at the same time, I get motivated off of damn near anything. For him to say that, I was feeling like if that's his perception of what it takes, you know what, I can feel that.

"I was more [upset] at my own organization [the Timberwolves] not stepping up [to defend me]. I think it was the Dallas series in '03. I was just a little upset because of my own organization not really stepping up. It was cool, though, because it let me know where I was and where I stood with a lot of people in the organization at that time. I took it like it was positive criticism.

"One thing about me is I've never run from criticism. Never have. Never will. If a great wants to have his two cents about what I should do, it's cool. But I did call him and when I saw him I said, 'That's what's up. All right, cool. I can feel you saying that.' But I was more at the time ticked at my organization, that I supposedly went to battle [for]."

Rounding into shape

Kendrick Perkins said he is back at his playing weight of 275 pounds, following a conditioning program while recovering from shoulder surgery. "He's in good shape, just not in basketball shape," said coach Doc Rivers. "He's in good cycling shape, treadmill shape. He'll get there and we have enough time. He gets so tired and when you get tired, you stop thinking. Once his condition comes, he'll be fine." . . . Cassell has yet to play in any exhibition games. "There's no rush to play him," Rivers said. "He's been great, he's been very good for the second unit - he grabbed them several times after timeouts. He's telling them the right stuff, and they listen; I don't know if that's good judgment or not."

Julian Benbow of the Globe staff contributed to this report.