Boston Celtics superstars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce reached historic scoring milestones in Wednesday’s 112-88 pounding over the Toronto Raptors at TD Garden.
Garnett finished with 12 points and passed Jerry West for 15th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with a dunk with 6:30 left in the second quarter. West, whose image is the NBA logo, tallied 25,192 points during his career. Garnett now has 25,201 points all-time, which will surely continue to climb.
“I’m flattered to be honest,” Garnett said in eclipsing West. “When they told me I passed Wes Unseld I was at loss for words. … Someday I’ll probably sit back and actually think about it and it’ll probably mean something, but the one word I just keep thinking about is that I’m flattered.”
Shortly after Garnett passed West before halftime, Pierce surpassed Charles Barkley for 20th all-time on the league’s scoring list by knocking down a pair of free throws midway through the third quarter. Pierce, who finished with 15 points, inched over Barkley’s 23,757 to take sole possession of 20th with 23,763 points.
Pierce told reporters after climbing the NBA all-time points chart, “I’m happy. And when you pass a guy like (Charles) Barkley, one of the greatest players that ever played the game, it says a lot.”
The Celtics dedicated a video tribute to both Pierce and Garnett during separate timeouts, and the players received a standing ovation from Garden crowd.
Pierce said he was honored to achieve such an accomplishment on the same night as his friend and teammate Garnett, who he said has helped his career.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers said jokingly that the team was tired of clapping as it seemed every night Garnett, Pierce or Jason Terry passed another record.
“When you pass a (Charles) Barkley and a (Jerry) West, those names – that’s pretty impressive,” Rivers said. “I mean, Kevin just passed ‘the logo.’ When you think of it in those terms, it’s pretty remarkable what he’s doing.”
