Garnett chastises Davis, fellow subs

Kevin Garnett had strong words for the Celtics' reserves after they squandered most of a 25-point advantage in the final quarter of a 93-78 victory over Portland last night.

Garnett was especially emphatic with second-year forward Glen Davis, grabbing him by the arm during a huddle before the starters returned to the game with 6:04 remaining. After the conflict, Davis sat on the bench with a towel over his head, television close-ups portraying him as near tears.

"I'll probably get real deep with him," Garnett said. "Try to understand what he's going through right now, research the problem. But Baby is frustrated a little bit with some of what we are doing. He just has to understand his role and not come outside of it."

The Celtics' reserves increased the advantage to 78-53 on Leon Powe's layup seven seconds into the final quarter, but they could not maintain the momentum. After two minutes of an Eddie House-Patrick O'Bryant-Paul Pierce-Powe-Brian Scalabrine combination, coach Doc Rivers returned to the first-teamers.

Rondo revving up

Rajon Rondo could be just getting started. After compiling a triple-double (16 points, 13 rebounds, 17 assists) against Indiana Wednesday and rolling up 16 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals last night, Rondo is averaging 14.1 points and 8.8 assists in the Celtics' last 10 games. In the first 11, he averaged 7.1 points and 6.8 assists.

"He still has better days coming; he's not as good as he can be," Rivers said. "I'm on him a lot. I coach him to where he can be someday, not where he's at right now."

Rondo's game seemed to kick into gear Nov. 18 as the Celtics defeated New York, 110-101.

"The biggest change is, the first six or seven games I thought his mind-set was wrong," Rivers said. "He was trying to prove to people he can shoot instead of just trying to prove he can make plays. The second thing is the biggest, and that's mental focus - his preparation has changed with each game, that's the biggest thing. It's game to game, where in the past there were days when he would come in and just show up for the game. But he was not just absolutely focused mentally, and to be a good player in our league - the great ones are mentally focused every night, no matter what the distractions are around their lives or anything. They are able to click in for 48 minutes. It sounds so easy but it's very difficult to do.

"It's maturity, it just takes time, it's a matter of just getting better at it. Because you do it for five games doesn't mean you can do it for 20. It's difficult for young guys to focus - ask any parent. Sometimes it just happens, but you've still got to have the mind-set to do it. He's done it before, but what he hasn't done is do it over and over and every night."

Tony Allen doubtful

Rivers said guard Tony Allen (sprained right ankle) is doubtful for tomorrow against the Pacers.

"He hasn't done anything, so I doubt even Sunday," Rivers said. "If he's not 100 percent, or really close to it, I look at it as - we play Sunday and we have three days off, so he would have to be very well for me to play him on Sunday."

Said Allen, "My ankle feels all right. It's a little sore, but I'm going to get through it. Sunday, that's what it looks like. Calf raises, a lot of foot exercises. A lot of massage and ice. I haven't done anything on the court. I jumped on it and whatever. [Today] will be the day where I finally shoot some shots. The swelling has gone down a lot.

"There is nothing good about missing a game. But I can sit back and see some of the mistakes that we do as a team. And when I come back, I can look at those mistakes, and when I'm in those situations, I can do the opposite."

Better late than never

The Celtics will present a championship ring to the Hornets' James Posey before next Friday's game. Posey signed a free agent contract after last season . . . The Celtics attended super featherweight Manny Pacquiao's last fight in Las Vegas and will be in his corner, in spirit, when he meets Oscar De La Hoya tonight. "He's a Celtics fan and we're his fans," Kendrick Perkins said. "He gave us tickets to his fight [against David Diaz] and we were in the locker room and met him. We're going to make it a priority [tonight]. I think he'll win."

Gary Dzen and Marc J. Spears of the Globe staff contributed to this report.