By Gary Washburn, Globe Staff

NEW ORLEANS -- The Celtics returned to the court Wednesday for the first time since losing that tight game to the Miami Heat on Monday, and they received a welcome addition with a nearly clean-shaven Kevin Garnett, who will play tonight against the New Orleans Hornets.

Garnett missed the past two games with a strained left adductor (thigh) muscle and also flu-like symptoms but he returned this morning for a shootaround refreshed and ready to go.

"Feeling better, feeling a lot better, thank you," he said. "I thought we played hard (in my absence). I thought we competed. You could see some of the small mistakes kind of cost us at the end (against Miami) but for the most part, I thought played together and played very, very hard. Those are good signs."

When asked if he was close to playing against the Heat, Garnett said, "I was. Any time I don't play it's always a tough call. It was very tough not to be able to contribute."

Meanwhile, the club officially signed forward DJ White for the remainder of the season and the Celtics said in a release that it is a multiyear deal. Also, coach Doc Rivers said that he wants to keep team continuity and wants to sign Shavlik Randolph, whose second 10-day contract expires Thursday.

White, signed from the Chinese Basketball Association as relief for a thin frontcourt, expressed relief about knowing he's staying in Boston.

"It's a good feeling; I just went through two 10-day contracts and finally it's official that I'll be here the rest of the year. You can kind of relax in a sense," he said. "I'll know where I'll be for the next couple of months."

Said Rivers about the roster: "We don't need to make any more changes. They know what we're doing. We don't need to bring in another. We brought in three guys (in the last month). That's a lot for a team that's in the thick of a playoff run. That's enough change as far as I'm concerned. I think we're done with the change stuff."