BOSTON - Mess with the bull, you get the horns. Kevin Garnett has responded to Atlanta Hawks' co-owner Michael Gearon, who called Garnett "the dirtiest guy in the league."
"First off I want to say thank you to their owner for giving me some extra gas tonight," Garnett said after the Boston Celtics' 83-80 win in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Thursday night. "My only advice to him is next time he opens his mouth, actually know what he's talking about, X's and O's versus checkbooks and bottom lines."
Garnett explained that he and the Celtics aren't a dirty team, but they are aggressive.
"We're not dirty, we're firm, we play aggressive. We're not dirty," said Garnett. "You know, you have to understand the word dirty in this game is very defined. Going under guys, trying to hurt guys, ill intent, it's not the way we play basketball. We play very, very respectable to the opponent, the city we're in, the game, we play with a lot of passion, play with force. It's the playoffs, but I'm not trying to hurt anybody, nor have my teammates. I just found that comment to be a little rude and a little out of hand and I wanted to address it, just because you got a bunch of money don't mean you can open your mouth."
At the end of the day, Garnett certainly had the last laugh. Garnett scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Game 6, leading Boston to the next round and eliminating Atlanta.
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