Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he planned to limit Kevin Garnett's activity during Thursday's practice in hopes to have the veteran forward on the court for Friday's Game 3 matchup against the New York Knicks at the TD Garden, according to ESPN. Garnett suffered what Rivers compared to a hip pointer in Tuesday's Game 2 loss.

Boston currently trails New York 2-0 in the best-of-7 series, with the Knicks dominating on their home court. Boston will need the future hall of famer to be as close to healthy as possible if they hope to even the series at home.

"I didn't ask [the training staff]. That's my rule, I try not to ask. Because they may give you the answer you don't want to hear," Rivers joked about Garnett's status with ESPNBoston.com. "Right now, we're planning on him practicing. I'm not going to let him go through the entire practice, even if he's feeling good. I know a hip pointer, all you need is someone to bang into you or something. I don't even know if it's that, so we're going to be careful."

Garnett sat out 10 of Boston's final 13 regular-season games, including eight straight due to left ankle inflammation. He also missed two games before that because of a left abductor strain.

Garnett told ESPN that the Celtics are a "confident group" and repeated the answer when asked about his health. Boston will host New York at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.