Aggressiveness, that's the Ticket
The biggest basket of last night's game came down to Kevin Garnett doing one of his patented swooping moves across the lane, blowing past an overmatched Joe Smith, and curling the ball into the basket with 21.4 seconds to play. That snapped the game's final tie, and the Celtics hung on for a 76-72 victory in the series opener against the Cavaliers.
It was a play that Garnett often has come under criticism for not making or, even worse, not wanting to make. But he showed absolutely no hesitation in taking the ball to the rim on this occasion. It was a play that Doc Rivers called only because Rivers overruled himself and did not call a timeout. That one move - not calling time - may have been the biggest of the game.
The Cavs had just tied the game on a Zydrunas Ilgauskas put-back of a LeBron James missed layup. There were 39 seconds left and the Celtics all figured Rivers would call time. He had told them earlier that that was his intention. Cleveland coach Mike Brown was banking on a timeout so he could get Ben Wallace back into the game to guard Garnett.
But Rivers instead told his players to run the play and get the ball to Garnett on the left block. "Kevin on the post was fantastic," Rivers said. The coach figured he still had enough time left for his final timeout with two possessions (at least) remaining, and he liked the Garnett-Smith matchup.
So, too, did Garnett, who waited perhaps a nanosecond before he made his move. Ilgauskas stayed with Kendrick Perkins, leaving Smith alone to deal with Garnett. While Smith might know Garnett's preferences and tendencies from their days together in Minnesota, he was powerless to do anything about it last night.
"I was just trying to be aggressive," shrugged Garnett, who finished with 28 points (37 percent of the team's scoring) along with 8 rebounds and 2 steals. "I saw a lane, took my time, got my head up, just a good shot and that's it. Nothing more, nothing less to it, just trying to be a lot more aggressive on the floor. There really was nothing more to it."
Saluted Rivers, "Getting the ball to Garnett any night is a good matchup for us."
Eight of Garnett's 22 points came in the fourth, when he and former Wolves teammate Sam Cassell basically were the Celtics' offense. Garnett also connected on a huge 20-footer off a Ray Allen feed to tie the game at 70-70 with 77 seconds remaining after Cleveland had taken its last lead and quieted the Garden.
For a guy who regularly gets ripped for passing up shots and being too deferential down the stretch, Garnett managed to squeeze off eight shots in the final 9:24 he was on the floor. He was anything but passive.
"Kevin was the one who was carrying them," said Brown. "He carried them offensively. He did a real nice job out there."
The performance came hours after Garnett discovered that he finished third in this year's Most Valuable Player voting, trailing winner Kobe Bryant and runner-up Chris Paul.
His chances of getting a second MVP trophy for his collection were hurt by the fact that the Celtics won when he was out injured, by the fact that Boston plays in the Eastern Conference, and by the fact that Bryant and Paul both were deserving.
Garnett ended up getting 15 first-place votes, including one from yours truly. Bryant got 82 first-place votes. Paul got 28. LeBron James got 1.
Garnett, of course, has bigger things on his mind, and earlier in the day he had offered congratulations to Bryant. But, he said, "Any time you get votes for any kind of award in this league, [it] is always a pleasure. I have always been privileged.
"But, you know, without this guy to my right [Paul Pierce] and the host of other guys in the locker room, and the coaching staff, the organization here, I always have to give thanks to them.
"Players sometimes think it's all about them and they don't understand the other four guys that are out there on the floor with you, along with those guys on the bench [that] make a lot of things happen. I am privileged for that and I thank you for who voted for me."
On his way back from the interview podium to the Celtics locker room, Rivers was asked if he'd heard that Garnett doesn't produce down the stretch and shies away at crunch time.
"Yeah. I heard that," the coach said. Then he let out a howl.
On a night when Ray Allen went point-less and Pierce missed 12 of 14 shots, someone had to step up for the Celtics. Rajon Rondo did in the first half. Cassell did in the fourth quarter. Garnett did it all game.
It may have been what Garnett called "a beat-down defensive game," but when the Celtics needed a basket in the worst way, he saw the mismatch, got the ball, and produced. Sort of what we've come to expect, but it was still refreshing to see.
Peter May can be reached at pmay@globe.com
