Doc Rivers is concerned about the swelling Rajon Rondo has experienced in his sprained ankle as he tries to work his way back.

"Rondo is day to day," Rivers told WEEI in Boston on Thursday. "I don't know if you'll see him tomorrow or not, but he's getting close. So far each time he's worked out there's been some swelling and that's a concern. We're going to take it slow. We're not going to push him back. We're just going to wait until he's ready to play."

Boston will face New Orleans on Friday night.

"It was a pretty severe sprain," president Danny Ainge said later Thursday. "Rajon is in a situation where he could play, but he's in pain still. He has pain on both sides of the ankle and we just don't want to get him back on to the court until he can play hard."

The Celtics are 4-2 in Rondo's absence.

Danny Ainge confirmed that Kevin Garnett's MRI revealed a strained calf muscle that will sideline him for a few weeks.

“It’s a muscle injury, a strained calf,” Ainge said. “It’s actually the softer side of the leg below the knee. It’s not anything to do with his knee, which is great news, and it’s one of those injuries that he may be out for a couple of weeks at the most. That’s my guess. It’s always a guess. I’ll just say two weeks. I think that’s on the conservative side.”

Kevin Garnett injured his right leg in Boston's 104-92 loss at Detroit on Wednesday.

"I can't tell you much more than what you know already," said Doc Rivers on Thursday morning. "They're going to do more tests today, I think they'll do an MRI. We do think it's muscle-related, we don't think it has anything to do with the knee, but we don't know. So we're just going to wait and see."

Garnett appeared to injure his leg after cutting to the basket and planting with two feet before going up for a dunk. As he went up into the air, it was clear Garnett was already hurt and he subsequently hung on the rim longer than usual.

Garnett then limped and grimaced to halfcourt.

Shaquille O?Neal has been fined $35,000 for public comments about the officiating, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred following the Celtics? 86-78 loss to the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.

The Celtics saw their 14-game win streak end at the hands of the Magic on Saturday, but Doc Rivers won't force Rajon Rondo back into the lineup.

Rondo has missed Boston's last four games.

"Rondo's going to be out until he's 100 percent. I'm not going to push him back. We're not going to push anybody back, and we're just going to find a way," the coach said.

Shaquille O'Neal played just 13 minutes against the Magic on Saturday before fouling out.

"I guess they came out to see No. 26 today," O'Neal said. "... He was a great player out there today."

Referee Bob Delaney was the only person wearing No. 26 on the floor Saturday.

"They [fans] paid all that money to watch No. 26 play," O'Neal said. "If I was a fan, I would be pissed. You pay all that money for good seats, you have two of the best guys in the [NBA] sitting on the bench, out of the game. That is what happens when you have control freaks out there."

Dwight Howard picked up five fouls, including a technical, while being held to six points in 33 minutes.

"It's just two good guys going out there hard," O'Neal said of his battle with Howard. "I just wish we had the opportunity to play."

The Magic got a lift from Brandon Bass off the bench as they ended the Celtics' 14-game winning streak on Saturday afternoon.

Bass had 21 points and nine rebounds to key the 86-78 victory at Amway Center.

Orlando hit just 39.4% of their field goal attempts, but they outrebounded Boston by six.

In addition to the effort of Bass, the Magic got 16 points from Hedo Turkoglu and 11 rebounds from Dwight Howard.

The Celtics led by 10 points at halftime.

Kevin Garnett had 22 points and five rebounds, Paul Pierce tallied 18 points and eight boards and Glen Davis helped with 16 points and eight rebounds.

The Celtics will be without Rajon Rondo on Saturday afternoon against the Magic.

Rondo has missed Boston's last three games with a sprained left ankle.

Nate Robinson will start, with Paul Pierce handling the ball at times as well.

Kendrick Perkins participated in his most intense on-court activity on Tuesday since undergoing offseason surgery on his right knee.

After an MRI last week, Boston's training staff gave Perkins the OK to attempt non-contact work.

He worked with the first-team while running some basic sets and completed some pick-and-roll exercises with a series of dunks.

"I went through the dummy offense a little bit with the guys -- got up and down a bit -- it felt pretty good," Perkins said. "We just went over some plays, it was good to be out there."

He is still eying the All-Star break for his return.

Dirk Nowitzki has compared the defensive impact Tyson Chandler has had in Dallas to what Kevin Garnett has done for Boston.

"I don't think Ray [Allen] or Paul Pierce were great defenders before K.G. got there," Nowitzki said. "But, K.G., with his energy, his defense, his mentality and his high-octane self, he kind of changed the whole momentum on the defense. I think that's what Tyson did here."

The Mavericks are holding teams to six fewer points than a year ago (93.2) to rank tied for fifth in the league, and they're fourth in opponent field-goal percentage (43.5).

Nowitzki's point on the Celtics has merit.

Boston ranked in the bottom half of the league in two key defensive categories -- 18th in scoring defense (99.2), and 24th in opponent field-goal percentage (46.8) -- the season before Garnett arrived.

The very next season, the Celtics finished No. 2 in scoring defense (90.3) and No. 1 in opponent field-goal percentage (41.9).