"Jermaine O'Neal's return was more than anyone, including the Celtics center, bargained for.

O'Neal returned from arthroscopic knee surgery for his first game since Jan. 10 in last night's 107-97 win against the Spurs, and made both of his shots in 11 minutes — including a big three-point play early in the third quarter.

He may be receiving more time than he bargained for, too. Nenad Krstic, who left the game for good with a right knee injury in the third quarter, won't play tonight in Atlanta. He'll have an MRI tomorrow when the team returns to Boston.

"He played well," coach Doc Rivers said of O'Neal. "That three-point play was huge. I was just happy to see him defensively moving very well. The first thing he said after the game was that the speed of the game is different than being in a gym by himself."

Added O'Neal: "The only surprise I had was the speed of the game. When you're gone for three months, no conditioning that you can do will set you up for what you have to go through out there.

"It felt good, though, felt strong. It's like muscle memory. To be honest, I feel very positive about the first game back."

As numbing as the sight of another big man going down had to be for Rivers, he's learned to roll with each new injury report."