Video of Boston Celtics honoring Boston area heroes; Kevin Garnett says it was good 'seeing people drunk, having fun and high-fiving'

The Celtics honored many heroes from the Boston Marathon tragedy and related events that ensued in Watertown before and during Friday night's Game 3 at the TD Garden.

BOSTON – The moment was beautiful, and nobody wanted it to end, and then it was over, and the emotions weren't sustained because, man, those New York Knicks keep throttling the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics honored many heroes from the Boston Marathon tragedy and related events that ensued in Watertown during Friday night's Game 3 at the TD Garden. Fans were provided with white t-shirts that read "Boston strong" in green lettering. After the first quarter, a host of policemen, doctors, nurses and volunteers - read the full list here - were honored as "Heroes Among Us," as part of a routine program that never felt so perfect.

Fans stood for almost the whole time between the first and second quarters. It seemed like nobody wanted to sit first, because sitting meant stopping cheers for the people who risked their lives to keep the Boston area safe. Really, the people standing at midcourt deserved applause that didn't need to cease for a basketball game to resume. But basketball was the reason people assembled into the building, and the contest had to continue. People sat in their seats and the Knicks marred what could have been a fantastic night.

“Obviously, the result is not what we wanted,” said Kevin Garnett, who scored 12 points with 17 rebounds in Boston's 90-76 loss. “But looking in the stands, seeing people drunk, having fun and high-fiving for the most part was good. It was a good two-and-a-half hour diversion if you will.”

Could all the emotion have hurt the Celtics?

"I don't know," said head coach Doc Rivers. "I can't get in their heads."

"We had a good crowd, a lot of energy in the building," added forward Paul Pierce. "I thought we wanted it so bad we were so anxious, just to feed off the energy of the crowd. I think it kind of a little bit got the best of us.

"When you want it so bad you rush, you get real anxious, and I thought that's what we did for most of the night. I thought we played hard and got good looks, but the ball just didn't bounce our way."

Much of the crowd filed out midway through the fourth quarter. A small contingent of New York fans remained, chanting "Let's go Knicks" and "M-V-P" for Carmelo Anthony. The night didn't unfold as Boston had hoped, but still the minutes of applause were nice.