Kevin Garnett was ejected with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter of Boston's blowout win over the Pacers when he raked Indiana's Tyler Hansbrough across the face going after the ball. A "flagrant 2" foul was called and Garnett left the court to a standing ovation. But afterward, Garnett insisted he meant no harm by the foul.
"I was firm. I didn't mean to hit him in the face like that," Garnett explained. "I was actually trying to swipe the ball but it was a physical game and they called it the way it was. It was part of the game."
Celtics coach Doc Rivers had another take. He thought head referee James Capers was trying to do Garnett a favor.
"Honestly, there was so much crap going on at that point, I think Cape has been around the league a long time and I think he was thinking, 'I'm going to do Kevin a favor and get him out of here' because it was getting chippy. And I had Brandon [Bass] at the table anyway, because I could see that, too. And I really think sometimes that's what officials do, and you can't blame them for it. That's what it was."
For more, including video from Garnett in the Celtics locker room, 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