Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston - ”Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett didn’t spend long addressing his spat with Detroit Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva on Friday, but sent a terse message amidst the fallout from Villanueva suggesting Garnett called him a ‘cancer patient’ during Tuesday’s game in Detroit. ‘He’s a nobody,’ Garnett said following the Celtics’ 110-105 overtime win against the Chicago Bulls at TD Garden. ‘I’m not paying attention to nobodies anymore.’ … ’I don’t even want to get into that,’ Noah said, when asked about Garnett’s propensity to rile up opponents. Garnett got whistled for a double technical with Villanueva on Tuesday, then got the same infraction after a scuffle with Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut on Wednesday night. ‘I think … whatever. He is who he is. At the end of the day, it cost me $2,000 today [for the technical foul]. Just getting upset at his dumb [stuff]. I’m not getting involved in it. It’s stupid. I let his dumb a– cost me $2,000, so I’m the dumb a–.’”

Chris Forbserg, ESPN Boston – “‘It’s fine,’ said Rondo, who only shrugged when asked to confirm the diagnosis of plantar fasciitis. ‘It’s cool. It’s sore, that’s all.’ It wasn’t so cool Friday morning, when team trainer Ed Lacerte advised Rivers that Rondo should skip Friday’s game in lieu of rest. But when Rivers approached Rondo soon after, he brushed off the diagnosis and said he was playing. ‘Listen, this morning, Eddie told me that Rondo wasn’t playing because of his foot,’ said Rivers. ‘And 10 minutes later, I go down so we can watch film and Rondo said, ‘I’m playing; I’m fine.’ ‘ … ‘I was able to tolerate it tonight,’ said Rondo, who got treatment and a massage after the game. ‘We’re just taking precautions, that’s all.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Shaquille O’Neal’s bruised shin is proving a tough opponent. The center missed his second straight game last night because of the injury, which could conceivably leave him at home when the Celtics hit the road tomorrow. That would also scratch Shaq from a return to one of his former homes – Miami, where the Celtics play the LeBrons on Thursday. ‘It’s not his knee, but there’s swelling,’ Rivers said. ‘I guess it’s just old age. I don’t know if it’s looking good – I just don’t know yet. I don’t know if we’ll bring him on this trip, let alone play.’ O’Neal later said he was going on the trip.”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “With the score tied at 96 and just a few ticks remaining, the Bulls had the ball, looking to take the game’s final shot. Rose, at the top of the key, was being defended by Rondo. When one of Rose’s teammates came towards him to set a pick, Rose waived him off. He was planning to take Rondo off the dribble, no help required. Sensing this, Rondo stepped up his game defensively and forced Rose to lose control of the ball. It wound up in the hands of Joakim Noah, but his desperation shot came after the horn expired. Chicago had done a nice job for most of the game getting Rose to the hole off pick-and-roll plays, but Rondo said he wasn’t surprised to see Rose waive off his teammates on that final possession of regulation. ‘Great players want the ball in situations,’ Rondo said. ‘He wanted to make a play.’ Rondo felt the same way, especially defensively where he tallied four steals, including one in overtime that led to a Glen Davis free throw which gave the C’s a three-point lead with less than two minutes to play. ‘He was phenomenal,’ Rivers said of Rondo. ‘Down the stretch, his defense, his hands … he was great. He was just, he was locked in tonight. And that’s what we need.’”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “Great defenders want those challenges too. Rose made his move, Rondo stayed with him. He tried again, but Rondo got his hand on the ball and deflected it. Time ran out and the game went into overtime where the Celtics were able to pull it out, 110-105, Friday night. ‘It’s all grit man,’ Kevin Garnett said. ‘You’re up there on the island by yourself. The bigs were trying to talk to him, letting him know. Rose shooed them out and told them he wanted the one-on-one. Shorty’s the one that’s not going to back down from matchup. He pulled up his shorts and got it done. Period. Point blank.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Daniels finished with a season-high 13 points. His play was especially important during a critical second quarter spurt by Boston that put them in control of the game. Daniels showed just how diverse his game is offensively, with baskets coming off drives to the hole as well as pull-up jumpers. His aggressiveness was rewarded with four free throw attempts. Only Glen Davis (7-for-8) had more attempts than Daniels. He also managed to tally three assists which trailed Rajon Rondo (11), Paul Pierce (5) and Kevin Garnett (4). ‘I thought he saved the game for us,’ said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, referring to Boston’s 26-7 run to start the quarter. ‘That stretch was the biggest stretch in the whole game for us. It gave us some breathing room.’ It also breathed some much-needed life into a Celtics squad that seemed to be going nowhere fast. ‘I just wanted to come in and just use my energy,’ Daniels said. ‘I had enough of a mismatch on the offense, and use my size and take advantage of it.’”

Barbara Matson, Boston Globe – “‘With the team chemistry we have, we just have to find the hot man and that was Marquis,’ said Nate Robinson, who spelled point guard Rajon Rondo. ‘And Baby [Glen Davis, who had 8 points in the first half, 15 for the game]. We’re just doing what we’ve been doing, playing the game. It’s kind of like wrestling, you‘ve got to have a good tag team. My tag team is Rondo, I go in and try to do my job; Baby’s is Jermaine [O’Neal], [Marquis] is Paul and Ray [Allen]. Then when everybody on the team gets back and healthy, we’re going to be a well-oiled machine.’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers described Daniels as ‘awesome, aggressive.’ ‘I actually thought he saved the game for us,’ said Rivers, ‘because I think that second unit, him, Nate, Semih [Erden] . . . I thought that stretch was the biggest stretch in the whole game for us. It gave us some breathing room.’”

Jimmy Toscano, CelticsBlog – “With the Celtics clinging to a three-point lead with 1:30 to go in overtime, Pierce dribbled the ball near the top of the key. He found a streaking Ray Allen backdoor and hit him with the bounce pass. Allen got the pass in stride and elevated for the one-handed jam that sent the Garden into a frenzy. That, folks, was your game. ‘I dunk every 65-70 games,’ Allen joked. ‘It’s situational. As I’ve gotten older I’ve learned to be more efficient with my body and getting to the hole when I can. And sometimes you got to dunk it.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘Ooof,’ said coach Doc Rivers after the 110-105 victory against the Bulls had been secured. ‘I didn’t know he could dunk. I mean, I was shocked. My goodness.’ According to Allen, it was not the first time he used the slam as his instrument when performing ‘Taps’ for a foe. ‘I was playing with the kids in the toy room earlier, and they’ve got the little hoop on the wall,’ he said. ‘So I got a dunk on them every now and then just to let them know who’s boss.’”

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald – “That Thibodeau threw himself completely into his new job was no surprise to his old boss, who came to realize tales of Thibodeau’s work ethic were true. ‘I thought they were exaggerated, and they were not,’ Rivers said. ‘Every once in a while one of our coaches would try to beat him in the morning, and we couldn’t. You got there at 6, he was there earlier somehow. That’s just who he is.’”

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