Kevin Garnett wasted no time following his game-winning and series-clinching dagger in the hearts of the Hawks to blast Atlanta owner Michael Gearon for labeling him as the league's "dirtiest guy" after Game 5, a game won by the Hawks.
"First off, I want to say thank you to the owner for giving me some extra gas tonight," Garnett said. "My only advice to him is next time he opens his mouth, actually know what he’s talking about, X’s and O’s vs. checkbooks, bottom lines."
Garnett helped usher the Hawks into the offseason Thursday night, scoring 28 points, hauling down 14 rebounds, blocking five shots and coming up with three steals in just over 38 minutes as the Celtics won Game 6 and the series with an 83-80 win at a thunderous TD Garden.
Garnett continued moments later defending the way he and the Celtics play.
“We’re not dirty. We’re firm, we play aggressive, but we’re not dirty. You have to understand, the word ‘dirty’ in this game is very defined. Going up to guys, trying to hurt guys, ill intent. That’s not the way we play basketball. We play very, very respectable to the opponent, the city we’re in, the game. We play with a lot of passion, play with force. It’s the playoffs.
"I haven’t been here trying to hurt anybody, nor have my teammates. I found that comment to be a little rude and a little out of hand and I wanted to address it. Just because you’ve got a bunch of money doesn’t mean you can open your mouth.”
For more, including video of Garnett, visit the Celtics team page at weei.com/celtics [1] and the Green Street [2] blog.
Links:
[1] http://www.weei.com/celtics
[2] http://www.greenstreet.weei.com
[3] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/celtics