KG's 1st game in Target Center is a rout

[November 22, 2008]  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Make no mistake: Kevin Garnett still owns Target Center.

In his first game on the court since being traded before last season, Garnett scored 17 points to help his Boston Celtics cruise to a 95-78 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Al Jefferson scored 23 points for the Timberwolves. But he shot just 8-of-20 and the Timberwolves were shooting a jaw-dropping 23 percent heading into the fourth quarter before finishing at 31 percent.

The Celtics outscored Minnesota 35-10 in the decisive third quarter, with Garnett putting away two alley-oop passes and throwing down two more dunks to the delight of hundreds of fans wearing his No. 5 Celtics jersey and still more sporting his old blue No. 21.

Garnett was injured in Boston's only game here last season. That kept him from playing in the arena he called home for 12 brilliant seasons.

He was fully healthy this time around -- and carrying a little extra bling with him. The Celtics captured that long-sought NBA title for Garnett in his first season in Boston, giving him a big, shiny ring to match the huge diamond studs he wears in his ears.

Garnett shot 8-of-12 and did all the little things he excelled at in his beloved 'Sota.

In the middle of the 11-0 run that closed out the third period, Garnett delivered a teeth-rattling pick on Wolves guard Randy Foye, then swatted away a jumper by Sebastian Telfair.

Still searching for an identity in the post-KG Era, Minnesota made only two field goals in the period and fell to 2-9 on the season.

There were plenty of empty seats in the house, perhaps the most concrete sign yet that Minnesota has finally come to grips that the only pro basketball star this generation of fans has ever known is gone and not coming back.

Stone-faced, Garnett went through his warmups as if it were any other game in any other venue, with that trademark intensity smoldering from the moment he stepped on the court.

He was introduced first and received a standing ovation, but nothing compared to the thunderous welcome he got in his first game back in this building last February, though he did not play with an abdominal injury.

After the Celtics dismantled Allen Iverson and the Pistons on Thursday night, Garnett said this would be "just another game." But Boston coach Doc Rivers wasn't buying that for one second.

"Obviously this one is special," Rivers said before the game. "His job is to try to stay as focused as possible for a game, but clearly this is special for him. He knows that. We all know that."

Notes: Before the game, the Celtics sent rookie F Bill Walker down to Utah in the NBDL. Walker has not appeared in a game this season. "We just want him to play," Rivers said. ... Wolves G Rashad McCants sat out the game with back spasms. ... Newly crowned UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar, a former wrestler at the University of Minnesota, was in attendance.

[Associated Press; By JON KRAWCZYNSKI]

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