Brooklyn Nets forward Kris Humphries (left) gets in a shoving match with Celtics Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, and Jason Terry. (GETTY IMAGES)
Rajon Rondo loves Kevin Garnett like a big brother. And when big brother got roughed up unnecessarily by the former Mr. Kardashian, little brother immediately jumped in and got in the mix.
The Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets are not what you call natural rivals, but after Wednesday night’s scuffle the heat index just went up a few notches. With under a minute left in the first half and Brooklyn ahead 51-36, Nets forward and Kim K’s former beau Kris Humphries gave Garnett a hard shove that forced KG to hit the floor hard. The Celtics, especially Rondo, felt the hard foul was unnecessary so naturally the rest of the Celtics came to the aid of KG. Rondo escalated the whole brouhaha by giving Humphries a forearm shove; then Jason Terry got in there, followed by Brandon Bass, Paul Pierce, and KG. Before you know it, the entire Boston franchise wanted a piece of Humphries.
”We all back each other,” Garnett said. ”We take a lot of pride in putting on this jersey. I know I do. This ain’t the Girl Scouts or the Boy Scouts. That’s what it is. It’s the NBA. You’ve got to get used to it.”
After the officials were able to restore some order, Humphries, Gerald Wallace, and Rondo were all ejected. The disqualification cost Rondo his double-digit assist streak, as the run ended at 37 which tied the second-longest streak in NBA history.
It’s probably a stretch to call this a brawl because there were more pushing and shoving than actual punches thrown. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being compared to the Detroit-Indiana brawl at The Palace in Auburn Hills, this little melee at the TD Garden was more like a 4. Watch the altercation: