MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett missed his sixth straight game with a strained abdominal muscle on Friday night, disappointing thousands of Minnesota Timberwolves fans who came out to see him for the first time since he was traded.

The Celtics carried the league's best record into the game. Rather than risk further injury by playing Garnett, coach Doc Rivers kept him on the bench to play it safe.

Garnett made the trip to Minnesota, where he starred for 12 seasons before being traded in July for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff and two first-round draft choices.

But he did not participate in the morning shootaround and Rivers said his All-Star forward is feeling better every day.

The game was sold out long ago, with the struggling Timberwolves ticket office requiring fans to purchase a ticket to another game if they wanted to get one to see KG and the Celtics. With Garnett on the sidelines, the Wolves offered fans a voucher to attend another game later this month as compensation.

Rivers said there was a ``99.9 percent'' chance Garnett will also miss Sunday's game against San Antonio.

There is no timetable for Garnett's return, with Rivers saying that when team trainers ``say he's feeling great, then we'll play him.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.