BOSTON — Everywhere Kevin Garnett goes, he hears the same question: “How is your knee?”

Garnett says he is tired of the question, and the knee is “100-percent healthy.”

Boston coach Doc Rivers said he was happy with the way Garnett (13.2 points, 7.6 assists) has played so far this year even though his numbers are down.

“His minutes are way down, obviously,” Rivers said. “That’s why I get a chuckle sometimes when I hear guys compare his numbers to previous numbers. Well, it’s tough when you don’t play.”

Rivers says he decides when to take Garnett out of a game by how he looks on the court.

“It’s really by vision more than anything else, and anytime we can get him rest, we get him rest,” said Rivers.

Before Garnett’s injury, he would receive several ally-oop lobs from Rajon Rondo, but those two haven’t been connecting that much this year. Garnett doesn’t appear to be able to jump as high as he used to, and he even missed a dunk in the first quarter Wednesday night against Philadelphia after receiving an ally-oop from Rondo.

Rivers said Garnett’s jumping ability “depends on the day.”

“He had a couple games where he had three or four alley-oops,” Rivers said. “I think it’s just going to take time, and he’s going to have good days and bad days.”

Rivers was asked whether Garnett’s age, 33, was a factor. This is Garnett’s 15th season.

“Well, they’re all older,” he said of Boston’s Big Three. “But I don’t think that’s as much of a factor as it’s been made out to be.”

Perk worked on offense

Boston center Kendrick Perkins is known for being one of the best defensive centers in the league, but he spent a lot of time this past summer working on his offensive post moves and it’s showing.

“I just have to play with more confidence,” said Perkins, who is averaging a career-high 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. “I worked hard this summer. I worked on my game every day, so I need to have a lot of confidence.

“I spend a lot of time studying film and try every day to work on different things, defensive schemes and just try to get better,” Perkins said. “Offensively, it’s the same thing. I work hard, put my time in and just work on different post moves.”

When Perkins was told that Orlando superstar Dwight Howard considered him one of the best defensive centers in the NBA, Perkins said, “That’s a great compliment, but you know, obviously he was trying to be humble because he is one of the best centers in the league. But just hearing that come from him, there’s a lot of respect there. I appreciate it.

“Dwight is a great guy. When we get between the lines, we’re going to compete and go hard against each other and all that, but he’s a great guy.”

Williams, Brand out

The 76ers were missing star guard Louis Williams (17.4 points, 5.1 assists) and forward Elton Brand (11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds) Wednesday night, which made Rondo’s night a bit easier.

He didn’t have to guard Williams, who fractured his jaw Tuesday night against Washington, or worry about Brand when he drove into the lane since Philadelphia coach Eddie Jordan gave Brand the night off.

Williams was shocked when he found out that he had a fractured jaw.

“I was spitting up blood every timeout,” Williams said. “I thought it was my tooth, so I didn’t think it was as serious as it was. I wanted to play. There wasn’t really a lot of pain involved. I was playing on adrenalin obviously. I knew something was wrong but I didn’t know [the] magnitude.”

Williams does not know how long he will be out. Jordan said Williams would “be evaluated extensively tomorrow and that we’ll have a better indication of his timetable. It certainly seems to be a fractured jawbone.”

Wallace the way, Perk says

Perkins believes that the Celtics signing of Rasheed Wallace makes them the best team in the NBA.

“He is going to be the difference maker on whether or not we win the championship in my opinion,” Perkins said. “I think getting Rasheed, a four-time All-Star who is one of the better defenders in the league who just doesn’t get enough respect — I think he’ll be the difference maker.”