Pierce, Garnett will not play vs. Knicks

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ALBANY, NYFor those Boston Celtics fans who want to see Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett on the court tonight against the New York Knicks, your only shot is to get to the arena early enough for the pre-game shoot-around.

Because once the game starts, both players - along with Brandon Bass and Darko Milicic - will not play.

"We told them before the (Brooklyn Nets) game that they were off (Saturday)," Rivers said of Pierce and Garnett.

As for Bass, he is being held out as a precautionary measure after a right knee collision in the first half of Thursday's win at Brooklyn.

"If it were a regular season game, he would have played tonight," Rivers said of Bass.

Bass, who was at the C's morning shoot-around but did not participate, isn't overly concerned about the injury.

"It's nothing serious," Bass told CSNNE.com.

Last season, Bass had swelling in his left knee that required it to be drained. That sidelined him for six games, five of which the C's loss.

"This is something totally different; it's not even the same knee," Bass said. "I'll be fine. I'm good."

As for Milicic, the C's will also take a cautious approach in his return to the floor. He re-aggravated a right wrist injury earlier this week that has sidelined him for the last two games.

Following Boston's loss at Philadelphia on Monday, Milicic told CSNNE.com that he was going to get a cortisone shot to help alleviate some of the pain.

Milicic said he had the injection on Tuesday, prior to the Celtics hosting the Brooklyn Nets.

"Much better" was how Milicic described his wrist feeling after the injection.

"We wanted him to play (tonight)," Rivers said of Milicic. "But we wanted to give his wrist one more day. He'll probably play tomorrow (against Philadelphia)."

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