Added Davis: “He gives you energy just by looking over at him. I would grab a rebound and look over at him, and he’d just give you this look that made you feel it. Him seeing and saying things on and off the court just gives you an unbelievable feeling. We’re just blessed to have him.”
“He had a huge impact,” Allen said of Garnett. “But if there’s one thing we’ve learned about this team, it’s that we’re able to adjust to just about any situation.
“I was so proud of Paul - the biggest play of the game and he made a pass to an open teammate,” Rivers said. “It was great that Baby made the shot, but it was great that Paul made the pass. When you trust the pass, teammates come through for you. It was just a great win for us under the circumstances.”
Sitting on the bench for the better part of one game was difficult enough.
Kevin Garnett admitted following the Celtics 80-77 win against San Antonio last night that he never could have spent the previous 13 as a cheerleader.
“That would have been tough,” said Garnett, who scored 10 points in 15 minutes. “I told Doc that. I could go in the back, but I couldn’t come out on the bench. I’ve been very up front with him. But at least I can contribute now.”
As much as his teammates may have been buoyed by Garnett’s virtuosity during a seven-minute stretch at the start of the third quarter, KG didn’t sound surprised.
“With my hands, my arms and my wrists, they all work the same as ever,” he said. “I missed some easy ones in the first half, but in the second I got in a little rhythm. I felt OK.”
As it turned out, Doc Rivers didn’t have to tie Garnett to the bench in last night’s tight fourth quarter - a prediction the C’s coach had made. Then again, it didn’t hurt for Rivers to also turn a blind eye occasionally - including once at the end of a timeout when Garnett walked onto the floor and started discussing a call with referee Mike Callahan.
“I didn’t want to see that, actually,” Rivers said. “So it’s good I didn’t. He’s an excitable man.”
But Garnett’s second training camp has only begun.
“We’ll see,” Rivers said of how much Garnett can expect to play tonight in Memphis.
