Emotional return for ex-Celts
Nets’ Garnett, Pierce find it hard to focus
BOSTON – Kevin Garnett stole the ball from his friend and put the finishing touch on an emotional night with a layup that helped him and Paul Pierce become winners in their return to Boston.
It started with pregame standing ovations for the leaders of the Celtics’ last championship team and ended with an 85-79 win for the Brooklyn Nets after Garnett picked off Rajon Rondo’s turnover and dribbled in slowly for an uncontested basket with 20 seconds left Sunday night.
“I just played the passing lane,” Garnett said. “I thought I was going to get caught, but I got it.”
That gave Brooklyn an 82-77 lead.
It was a rare highlight for the returning stars in a game in which they fought to control their emotions while still trying to contribute to their current team.
“I had lumps in my throat and I tried to focus as much as I could,” Pierce said. “I’m happy we got it over with and I can go back to playing basketball.”
Pierce, the second-leading scorer in Celtics history, and Garnett scored just six points each. But they received several standing ovations on the court where they won the team’s 17th championship in 2008.
They also were honored in tributes shown on the video screen early in the game six months after a blockbuster trade sent them to Brooklyn.
“It was, by far, the hardest day that I had to focus,” said Garnett, a 19-year veteran. “It’s a good homecoming.”