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Celtics continue road trip at Warriors

Feb 20, 2008 - 11:58 AM Boston (41-10) at Golden State (32-21) 10:30 pm EST

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- All-Star Kevin Garnett should see more playing time when the Boston Celtics continue a five-game road trip against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.

Garnett, who missed nine games with strained abdominal muscle, returned on Tuesday but played sparingly. The 11-time All-Star scored just four points with eight rebounds in 20 minutes of a 124-118 loss to Denver.

"He was a little rusty," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "It wasn't a surprise after being out as long as he was. He'll be fine after a little time back on the court."

The Celtics could have used Garnett at full strength against Denver, which became the first Western Conference team to defeat them. Prior to that loss, Boston had been 16-0 vs. the West.

With Garnett limited, the Nuggets took advantage of a normally stout Celtics defense. Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points, Allen Iverson had 28 and Marcus Camby nearly had a triple-double.

"We haven't given up that many points all year," said Paul Pierce, who led Boston with 24 points. "We needed to slow down their two scorers a little better. This is a game we need to learn from."

The Celtics' defense will face another tough test against Golden State's high-octane offense. The Warriors, who lead the league with an average of 109.9 points, had their three-game winning streak snapped with a 119-109 loss to Utah on Tuesday.

Boston held Golden State to a season low in points in a 105-82 win on November 21.