Kevin Garnett's lack of composure didn't lead to a loss. Miami's did.Boston's emotional leader was slapped with two technicals after he elbowed Quentin Richardson in the jaw with 40 seconds left in the Celtics' 85-76 victory over the Heat in their playoff opener Saturday night.Garnett faces a possible suspension and could miss the second game Tuesday night in Boston.
He said he was concerned that Paul Pierce, who had fallen in front of the Miami bench, had hurt his shoulder and wanted to clear space around him. Richardson came by and said something, and Garnett struck him on the left side of the face with his left elbow."You make your bed, you have to lay in it," Garnett said about a possible suspension. "I am smarter than that. I have to keep my composure in a situation like that."
The Heat's loss of composure lasted much longer."The damage for us was done long before" the skirmish, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "To play to that kind of pressure, a little bit of duress, a little bit of adversity, we did not respond well to it."Before his ejection, Garnett had played well with 15 points and nine rebounds. He was in the middle of a swarm of Heat players when Pierce fell down. There was shoving, and technicals were called at first against Miami's Udonis Haslem and Boston's Glen Davis.Trailing 44-41 at halftime, the Celtics held the Heat to 32 points in the second half. And with Tony Allen shadowing Dwyane Wade, the Heat guard scored 26 points after averaging 33.7 in three regular-season games against Boston.
0 comments:
Post a Comment