NESN

Carmelo Anthony Waits at Celtics’ Team Bus to Confront Kevin Garnett After Heated On-Court Battle (Videos)

It’s safe to say Carmelo Anthony isn’t a big Kevin Garnett fan.

Anthony and Garnett engaged in a heated on-court battle on Monday night. The two veterans played physically in the paint, and they even took some time to do a little jawing at each other. Anthony, however, didn’t want to limit the action to the hardwood.

According to reports, Anthony shouted at Garnett near the Celtics’ locker room after the two teams left the court following Boston’s 102-96 win. No punches were thrown, and things didn’t get physical at all, but Anthony reportedly did a lot of yelling.

Apparently, that wasn’t enough for the disgruntled Knicks star, though. Anthony then left Madison Square Garden without talking to reporters, and promptly went outside to the Celtics’ team bus to wait for Garnett. Fortunately, police and security helped get Anthony out of the area before anything escalated.

Anthony’s actions come in the wake of a game that had a playoff feel to it. The MSG crowd was fired up all night, and the two teams traded blows — and thus momentum — throughout the course of the evening.

After the game, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers didn’t want to get involved with the whole ‘Melo situation.

“I’m going to let you all figure that one out. I’m going to stay out of that,” Rivers said. “If it was the playoffs I’d tell on him, but since it’s not I’m going to just be quiet.”

KG, who scored 19 points and grabbed 10 boards in the victory, also didn’t want to discuss Anthony’s aggressive behavior as the teams headed back to the locker room. Instead, he wanted to leave everything where it belongs — on the court.

“Listen, heat of the battle, man. Guys go back and forth. He’s trying to get his team to go, I’m trying to get my team to go, both teams are colliding, not to mention that it’s the Knicks and the Celtics,” Garnett said. “Just what it is, man.”

“What it is” could be a playoff preview. And what a series that would be.

Oh, and by the way, Rondo, who was suspended on Monday night, may have been in the mix as well. According to WEEI.com, Rondo “meandered toward the entrance to the bus, turned to Anthony and began a staring contest.”

Check out the on-court bickering between Anthony and Garnett in the first video below. Then, check out ‘Melo’s childish behavior in the video below that.

Photo of the Day

Nick Saban must be used to this by now.

Quote of the Day

I’ve been tuning Spike Lee out for years. That’s just common noise now.
–Paul Pierce, who really wasn’t down to engage with Spike Lee on Monday.

Tweet of the Day

At least hockey is back.

Melo is a tough guy right? I still remember 5 years ago when he threw a punch at 5’9″ Nate Robinson and took off running the other way. #NBA

— Jared Tucker (@_DJTuck) January 8, 2013

Video of the Day

Settle down, Tommy.