Boston coach Doc Rivers said that his starters will play more minutes tonight than they did in their preseason opener Wednesday night - a 96-90 loss to Houston.

He said that the starters got off to a bad second half start against Houston because he sat them too much in the second quarter and they cooled off. He expects to play them more in the second quarter tonight against the New York Knicks.

He said that Kevin Garnett is "fine" after playing 13 minutes against Houston. He said Garnett's knee is healthy but he is battling shin splints, and that Marquis Daniels would have gotten the game ball after Game One if the Celtics had given one out.

Backup guard Tony Allen, who is still recovering from ankle surgery, will miss tonight's game. Rivers said that Allen will practice tomorrow and he hopes to play him on Sunday against New Jersey.

In the locker room, Ray Allen talked about how President Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize award should be celebrated by everyone.