Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett has certainly made some enemies over the course of his illustrious career. One of those is Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah, who publicly called out Garnett after the Bulls beat the Celtics 100-99 in overtime on Friday night.
Joakim Noah calls Kevin Garnett a dirty player
Joakim Noah publicly called out Kevin Garnett’s questionable tactics after the Bulls’ 100-99 overtime victory over the Celtics on Friday night.
Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Noah and Garnett went at it for much of the night, at one point garnering double technicals after getting tangled up in the fourth quarter. Noah did have a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds while holding Garnett to 5-of-16 shooting, but he told ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell that the Celtics forward was doing whatever he could to throw the Bulls’ center off his game.
“Just trying to throw elbows,” Noah said of Garnett. “Cheap shots, just trying to get you off your game. But he’s a vet. He’s been doing this a long time, but it’s all right.”
Noah and Garnett have some history against each other going back to 2010. During that year's playoffs while the Bulls were playing LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Noah brought up Garnett, accusing him of being a dirty player. And he really hammered that point home:
“He’s a dirty player, man,” Noah said at the time. “He’s a dirty player. That’s messed up, man ... I’m hurting right now because of an elbow he threw. It’s unbelievable. He’s a dirty player. It’s one thing to be competitive and compete and all that, but don’t be a dirty player. He’s a dirty player.”
Garnett is certainly known to go over the line sometimes, as witnessed by the incident with New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony earlier this year. But when Noah was asked whether he thought Garnett crossed the line, the Bulls' center said no:
“Nah,” he said. “When we lose, I feel like he crosses the line. But since we’ve been beating their asses, I’m cool with it.”
Chicago has beaten Boston in two out of three meetings this season. Noah notched double-doubles in all three of those games. The Bulls and Celtics will play one more time in the regular season in Boston on Feb. 13.
See More:
