BIGGEST NEWS OF THE NIGHT!!!!!!
Brian Scalabrine will be starting in place of suspended Kevin Garnett, who is temporarily in exile, banned from TD Banknorth Garden for a game after his “fight” with Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut. Moving Scal up to the front line, coach Doc Rivers said, keeps Boston’s second unit in tact.
Rivers wasn’t too pleased to hear Garnett would have to sit out.
“I was just surprised,” he said. “I thought it was a ridiculous suspension.”
“You’ve got your head turned sideways and someone strikes you not once but twice, your reaction, it’s almost a reflex…is to flail. I guess that constitutes a punch. Clearly he’s not a good fighter if that’s a punch.”
Kendrick Perkins definitely had the best reaction of the night.
“You all want me to say something bad,” he said, looking at a group of reporters.
“I think it’s kind of messed up in a way,” he said of the suspension, relenting a bit.
Perkins also wins the award for best (and funniest) answer to a question. When a reporter asked about Garnett’s influence on him, specifically if KG has helped him stay under control and keep out of foul trouble, Perk paused.
“KG’s crazier than me,” he said affectionately before adding, “That’s not a good example to learn from.”
The crowd, by the way, really wanted Scalabrine to hit his first 3-pointer. Alas, he clanked one off the rim.
It’s 15-12 Boston at the first timeout at 5:58 in the first quarter.
