11.29.2017

KG Enjoying Gino Time

11/22/07

The Celtics' victory cigar isn't really a cigar. Rather, some slow-dancing bearded dude from American Bandstand with a tight yellow shirt that reads, "Geno."

Video of Geno plays only when the game is well in hand at TD Banknorth Garden. And in the final minutes of an easy 105-82 victory over the Warriors in front of a sold-out crowd last night, Kevin Garnett let down his usually intense guard, smiled wildly, threw a fist up, and did a little dancing himself when Geno grooved on the JumboTron.

"Geno's our boy," Garnett said. "Ya'll got to see Leon Powe do the Geno. Next time you see Leon Powe, ask him about the Geno. He's going to act like he doesn't know what ya'll talking about. But he knows. Hit the Geno for 'em."

Boston's star trio had a pretty even night offensively as Ray Allen scored a team-high 21 points, Paul Pierce had 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists, and Garnett added a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Celtics also received 34 points from their bench, including 15 points and three 3-pointers from Eddie House.

"Between us three, we're going to get a load of attention," Pierce said. "But other guys had ample opportunity to step up also. I thought Tony Allen played well tonight. Eddie House gave us a big lift. Hopefully, we'll be able to continue to play that way. There's going to be nights when all of us are going to be off."

Said House: "We're a team that's just going to come out, play hard, and try to get as many wins as we can."

The victory was the Celtics' first since ending an 8-0 start to the season with a loss at Orlando last Sunday. The Celtics are 6-0 at the Garden.

Ex-Celtic Don Nelson brought playoff basketball back to the Bay Area last season by using an unorthodox style of small ball with a guard-heavy, quick-shooting, 3-point hoisting crew. Golden State (3-7) entered the game averaging 108.8 points, second in the NBA, and the Celtics averaged 102.7. But the Celtics were second in points allowed at 89.4 per game and Golden State was last at 110.7.

The Celtics' defense made Nelson's offense look like a bad gimmick last night. The Warriors had season lows in points, field goal percentage (.333), and 3-point field goal percentage (.182). Golden State was also limited to 11 fast-break points (the Celtics has 12). Warriors guard Baron Davis (13 points) missed 10 of 13 shots and was held to almost 12 points below his scoring average.

"We were a terrible team tonight," Nelson said. "We couldn't have beaten the Pismo Beach."

Said Celtics coach Doc Rivers: "No. 1, just defensively, fantastic. They got some threes that they didn't make. I mean, I'm not delirious. But for the most part, we kept them from penetration all night."

Turnovers were the main reason the Celtics didn't blow out the Warriors early. Boston had 17 turnovers and allowed 18 points off miscues. After two of seven turnovers in the first quarter, Rivers called a timeout.

"We have to concentrate our effort on turnovers because we look up and defend a team shooting 35 percent and we're shooting 50 percent, but it's only a 10-, 12-point game, so it's definitely something we have to work on," Pierce said.

Nelson, whose Warriors played at New York a night earlier, said: "They started out as poorly as we did. They regained it. We didn't. Just one of those games. A bad game against a good team."

One early-season problem for the Celtics has been closing out games, and the Celtics opened up the fourth quarter with a 10-6 run to take a 91-70 lead, capped by a surprising dunk at the 9:36 mark from Tony Allen, who had left knee surgery last season and wore a brace. And after Garnett's 3-point play with 4:05 remaining pushed the lead to 98-77, victory seemed in hand.

"With four minutes left, I took Kevin and those guys out, [the lead] was 20 or 19 - I wasn't comfortable," Rivers said. "I don't think a coach is ever comfortable. I think that's just the way sports are and that's how we feel."

And the next thing you know, Geno was on the JumboTron.

"Actually having a chance to sit down and enjoy Paul and the rest of the guys, that's when you smile a little bit," Garnett said. "It feels great."

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