* KG wasn’t on the floor for the Celtics against the Spurs yesterday, but his presence at TD Banknorth Garden was enough. “Even when you don’t think he’s here, he’s here,” Glen Davis said. “You’re going to hear his voice. You know he’s watching.”

* Pat Riley and Dwyane Wade aren’t quite on the same page when it comes to turning the ball over. Wade says he “doesn’t worry about it,” and continues that “turnovers are the least of my worries, I tell you that. I have the ball a lot. If I have the ball 50 times and I turn it over nine, that’s good odds to me. I’m trying to make plays.” But Riley suggests otherwise: ”Nine is a lot — he’s got to take responsibility for that,” said the Heat coach. “We keep putting him in situations he’s habitually addicted to. We might have to make adjustments.”

* In his Heat debut, Shawn Marion went 6-13 from the floor for 15 points to go with 14 boards. ”I was nervous from the jump,” Marion said. “I tried to sleep well, but it doesn’t always pan out. I was just lost for emotions, just a lot of things going on in my mind.”

* The Pistons coasted to a 113-87 win over Charlotte because of a season-high 12 makes on 24 attempts from beyond the arc. “I thought we might take 44,” Flip Saunders said, “the way we started out.”

* Before Vince Carter was elbowed in the head, he was 2-6 from the field. Afterwards, he saw “stars, stripes, everything. Little birds,” he said. “It was one of those things, you see it coming and you can’t move fast enough.” In addition to his headache, he went 10-14 from the field and finished with 29 points.

* Grumblings of discontent in Cavalier-land? ”I didn’t feel like as a team or as an individual we played as hard as we could have,” said LeBron James. ”It was just tonight. It hasn’t been an ongoing thing. If it happens again, then you worry.”

* The Suns barely edged the slumping Wizards at home yesterday 108-107. “Sometimes teams that aren’t supposed to beat you creep up and sneak you right before the break,” Raja Bell said. “We’ve done a good job of pulling out those games out and doing what we had to do to win. Have they been our best performances? No, but ultimately they were wins and we’ll keep it moving.”

* Gregg Popovich and Doc Rivers are much more similar than anyone would have thought before this season, writes Buck Harvey. “But as Gregg Popovich won while Boston fans chanted “Fire Doc” last season, these men who once lived near each other in San Antonio moved in different directions. One became a Hall of Fame lock and the other a fool, when they are actually similar.”

* T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon combined to dish out 23 assists last night, while committing only three total turnovers. “You can’t get much better out of your point guards,” said Sam Mitchell. “We’ve just got to continue to do that. You can never pass enough. … We’ve got guys who can make shots if we move the ball and get a good shot.”

* Rick Bonnell sees the problems in Charlotte stretching far beyond Gerald Wallace’s strained right foot. “It’s one thing when you’re overmatched, it’s quite another when you appear not to be trying,” writes Bonnell. “Many of you used to rip Bernie Bickerstaff for his rotation or some subtle technical flaw. But Bickerstaff succeeded where I suspect Sam Vincent never will: He persuaded a team with a severe talent deficit to play remarkably hard.”

* Put whatever discontent between Shaq and Pat Riley to rest: “Shaq will forever be a player that I think did an incredible amount for me and this franchise,” Riley said. “Everything else is blog B.S.”

* There was yet another road “M-V-P” chant for Kobe Bryant yesterday in Miami. “In fact, another road “M-V-P” chant took place as Bryant made two free throws for a 102-94 lead with 36 seconds left,” writes Mike Bresnahan.