The last time the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns met, the boys from the West had their way with the Green Machine. The only noteworthy moment of Kevin Garnett’s night was when he gave Channing Frye a jimmy tap that sent the Suns into an uproar. Other than that, the Suns looked like a much better team. Wednesday night at the Garden was a completely different story.
The Celtics came out with the type of chip on their shoulder that’s usually reserved for Game 7 of the playoffs. Much like the time he called Charlie Villanueva a cancer patient, K.G. felt he had done nothing wrong when the two teams last met. He was determined to silence Phoenix by balling up, and that’s exactly what Boston’s vocal leader did.
Garnett completely abused Frye from the opening tip, scoring 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting and grabbing 11 boards. Had the Celtics not jumped out to such a significant lead, the damage would have been worse. Toward the end of the game, Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry was seen jawing at Garnett from the bench. K.G. would later tell reporters that Gentry was asking him for tickets to the first round of the playoffs.
When it looked like Frye finally had enough, Paul Pierce made his night worse. Check out this clip:
Pierce got a technical for staring Frye down, which is completely ridiculous but probably worth it. At that point the Suns were certain their night was over. Maybe Steve Nash was right about his team.
Photo: AP Photo/Elise Amendola
