Was it 1986 or 2007? The TD BankNorth Garden was rocking last night as the Boston Celtics opened the new NBA season with a 103-83 win over the Washington Wizards.
Gang Green was led by three guys named Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen as the trio contributed 67 points. Pierce led the team with 28, while Garnett chipped in 22 points, 20 boards and 5 assists to go with 3 blocks and 3 steals. Allen meanwhile had 17 points as the game was never in doubt from the middle of the second quarter.
The group has been nicknamed “The Big Three” but they have a lot of work to do to match the accomplishments of the original trio of Larry Bird, Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale. One young fan had a sign that said “RED SOX PATRIOTS CELTICS The Big 3”. The Sox won the World Series on Sunday while the Pats are unbeaten and looking for a 4th Super Bowl.
And both teams were there on Friday night rooting for the Celtics. Red Sox owners John Henry and Larry Lucchino were there and they brought the World Series trophy as well as players Tim Wakefield, Jacoby Ellsbury and Manny Delcarmen. The Patriots, who fly to Indianapolis today for their game with the Colts, were represented by owner Robert Kraft and players Wes Welker, Laurence Maroney, Junior Seau and Vince Wilfork.
The Wizards were led by Gilbert Arenas, who this week on his blog claimed victory, who had 21 points and former UConn player Caron Butler who added 18 points.
Prior to the game the team named the court after late team president Arnold “Red” Auerbach who passed away four days before last seasons opener.
