Ray Allen returned to the arena he once called home and played in front of his college coach. The result was the same. Paul Pierce scored 17 points and Kevin Garnett added 16 to lead the Boston Celtics to a 106-90 preseason victory over the Toronto Raptors last night at the XL Center. UConn coach Jim Calhoun was in attendance and received an ovation when he was shown on the large video board above the court.
"I bet you he felt out place," Allen said. "Just sitting there, he could relax."
Allen had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. He made his only field goal in the opening seconds of the third quarter and set up Garnett for a jumper that gave Boston its first double-digit lead, 72-62.
"The whole time I was shooting, I was just thinking about seeing the student section," said Allen, who went 26-0 in Hartford while playing for UConn. "This is a building in my mind that was always blue and white."
It was the first time the Celtics played in Hartford since a preseason game in 1995. Prior to then, the Celtics played three regular-season games a year in the arena formerly known as the Civic Center.
Glen Davis added 13 points for the Celtics (4-1), Lester Hudson had 12 points, and Kendrick Perkins and Eddie House each scored 11.
Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo had 6 points, 4 steals and 8 assists. He set up Garnett twice with alley-oop passes midway in the third quarter, including a dunk.
