Kevin Garnett props up Rajon Rondo

PHOENIX - Kevin Garnett has been one of Rajon Rondo [stats]’s biggest supporters, but his respect for the Celtics [team stats] point guard managed to grow Monday night.
A night after missing two free throws in a tie game in Los Angeles against the Clippers with 1.5 seconds left and watching Baron Davis hit the game-winning shot over him on the other end, Rondo had 30 points and 15 assists in Monday night’s fall to the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, Calif. Rondo made 11-of-18 shots from the floor and 7-of-9 from the line.
Garnett liked the way Rondo got back on the horse.

“Things happen to us that you turn and you ask yourself, ‘Why me?’ ” Garnett said as the Celtics had yesterday off in preparation for tonight’s road trip finale against the Phoenix Suns. “I told him when he went to the line (Monday), I smacked him and I said, ‘Yeah, redemption. Payback.’ I just kept filling him with that. It either makes you or breaks you, man. You can’t break this kid. This kid is made of carbon, man. Everybody knows what carbon is. You know that it’s damn near invincible. It’s just more than a pleasure to be his teammate.”
Rondo shrugged it all off, but he was seriously down in LA.
“I was bummed out up until gametime (Monday),” Rondo said. “But luckily it’s the NBA. We had a back-to-back, so I tried to redeem myself, but we still got another loss. For me, I get down on myself. I’m very hard on myself. But I’m still confident. I’m going to play the game and feel like I’m the best at it.”
Garnett continued to praise his young teammate.
“From the summer when he came in, I could tell how he answered some of the questions that I asked him that he was ready to play,” Garnett said. “Mentally I thought he was there to set a tone and prove something to everybody. And, you know what, I like that. I like that you come in and you’re here to prove something not only to yourself, but to your teammates, your peers, the ones you play against. There’s nothing wrong with playing with an edge. ’Do is a guy who always puts the team first. One thing I try to get him not to do is play against himself.
“He’s a counterpuncher. But, man, when it comes to turning it up and just taking over a game from all dimensions of it, I’ve yet to see anybody like him. I’m a huge Rondo fan. I stay on his (butt) and I tell him stuff, things that most people probably shy away from, but that’s the trust that he has in me and me being a vet.”
“It’s beautiful to watch his growth. It’s beautiful to see how he’s influenced not only some of his own peers and young guys he plays, but even the older guys,” Garnett added “I think he’s definitely gained our respect. I told him, ‘Man, you’ve got to be in love with getting better.’ And he’s just embraced that so it’s good to see.”
Celtics notes
The team is hoping Glen Davis’ sprained right ankle isn’t as bad as it looked when he suffered the injury against the Warriors.
Golden State’s Ronny Turiaf fell on Davis two minutes into the fourth quarter. Davis required crutches as he left the arena. . . .
Also receiving treatment from trainer Ed Lacerte were Garnett and Rondo. Garnett got his right leg kicked late in the Warrior game, and Rondo tweaked a left hamstring injury.