Having done all his talking on the court with 28 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in a stranger-than-fiction 83-80 closeout game against the Hawks, Kevin Garnett had a few other things he wanted to get off his chest. Settle in kids, it's time for another episode of KG Theater.

First topic: Hawks owner Michael Gearon, who had the temerity -- and poor timing -- to call Garnett “the dirtiest guy in the league” on Wednesday. 

Take it away, KG:

“First off, I want to say thank you to their owner for giving me some extra gas tonight. My only advice to him is next time he opens his mouth actually know what he’s talking about for his X’s and O’s versus checkbooks and bottom lines.

“I’m 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 under guys, trying to hurt guys, ill intent. That’s not the way we play basketball. We play respectful of the opponent. I haven’t been here trying to hurt anybody nor have my teammates. I just found that comment to be a little rude.”

And the kicker: “Just because you got a bunch of money don’t mean you can open your mouth.”

Garnett saved his sharpest barbs for those in the press who have been calling him old -- although it’s a little uncertain who, exactly, has been writing such things.

“You know what, man? I don’t want to come off kind of wrong here, so you tap me if I’m out of line here. But you guys, I’m really good at my craft and I take my craft really seriously. I guess being 35 -- soon to be 36, not 37, 76 -- look it up. I put a lot of work into my craft. I take this very seriously. I always have since [1995] when I was able to come into this league and it’s almost like you guys are shocked.”

(Here’s where Rajon Rondo interjected by simply nodding and saying, “Right,” which allowed Garnett to gather some momentum.)

“Like this ain’t what I do every day and this ain’t what I was built for. Comes off -- nah, I’m not going to say that -- but it does come off kind of disrespectful at times. I put a lot of work and time into this, so when I hit the floor there’s certain things I expect of myself. Certain levels I expect out of myself.

“I take this very seriously, so you guys calling me old, that number fueled the fire. You have no idea what y’all even doing when you do that. I appreciate y’all. Whoever’s writing the old comments and all that, keep doing that. I don’t read your column but it gets me back to me, all right?”

Whatever it is that’s fueling Garnett, he capped off a remarkable season -- one that he hinted could be his last -- with an all-time playoff performance. Coming into Game 6, the Celtics were 52.77 points better per 100 possessions when he’s on the court than when he’s on the bench. No one in the NBA has that great a disparity.

There was no better illustration of his impact than a 2 1/2-minute stretch of the fourth quarter when he left the game with the Celtics holding a nine-point lead. When he returned, the lead was down to one and then suddenly it was gone.

Garnett and his teammates dug in for the kind of weird finish this bizarre series truly deserved. First Paul Pierce drove for an impossible layup that somehow squirted between a bevy of Atlanta defenders. Then Garnett hit his biggest shot of the night, a turnaround jumper from the depths of the low block where legend has it he doesn’t like to roam.

This set up a bizarre final minute that belongs in a time capsule, if only so no one would ever have to watch it again. It included: Ray Allen missing a free throw, Marquis Daniels guarding Al Horford, a strange whistle on an inbounds play that still isn’t entirely clear, and finally Horford missing a free throw and then not intentionally missing the second with just 2.3 seconds left. Also, Rondo traveled under the basket.

Thankfully, Garnett was on hand to provide some sanity. All night long, he carved up young, strong defenders like Josh Smith and Horford. He took 19 shots, made 10 of them and went to the free throw line 10 more times.

“He bailed us out, really,” Doc Rivers said. “I mean, you could see Ray, just his legs, couldn’t get into the shot. I’ve never seen him miss than many free throws in my life. Paul just gave us everything he had, but he didn’t have a lot. And then Kevin was fantastic.”

In the cloudy haze of the playoffs where one game is always more important than the next, it can be difficult to gain perspective, so here’s the short list of signature Garnett playoff games with the Celtics:

Game 3 vs. Heat, 2011 -- Down 2-0, Garnett scored 28 points on 13-of-20 shots and grabbed 18 rebounds. He wasn’t able to equal that output in either of the next two games.

Game 6 vs. Cavaliers, 2010 -- With a chance to close out LeBron James and the Cavaliers, Garnett had 22 and 12 and held Antawn Jamison to five points on 2-for-10 shooting.

Game 5 vs. Cavaliers, 2008 -- In the toughest series the Celtics played in the championship run, Garnett had 26 points and 16 rebounds, helping give the Celtics a 3-2 series lead. His effort was soon to be overshadowed by Pierce’s legendary Game 7 duel against James.

Game 6 vs. Lakers, 2008 -- A monster game with 26 points and 14 rebounds in a championship-clinching blowout. 

There are arguments to be made for all of them, and maybe a first-round series doesn’t equate with the magnitude of some of the others on the list, but from this vantage point Garnett has never had a better series than the one he played against the Hawks, and he’s never had a bigger performance when it was needed the most.

The Celtics -- even as banged-up as they are -- have a real chance to do some damage in the postseason, but if this series has taught us anything, it’s that it will never be easy for them anymore. They will have to do this the hard way with plenty of “grit and balls” as Garnett so memorably put it after Game 2.

To get past the Hawks, they needed Pierce to go supernova in Game 2, Allen to unexpectedly return for Game 3 and Rondo to be brilliant in Game 4. Mostly, they needed Garnett to be great, and he was from beginning to end.

Someone asked Allen if this was vintage KG circa 2000-whatever.

“It’s 2012 KG,” Allen said. “He didn’t do anything that we didn’t expect that he couldn’t do. I don’t think anybody should be surprised.”