Kevin Garnett gets warm welcome in return from knee injury as Celtics beats Knicks 96-82

Garnett back with Boston crowd after knee injury

BOSTON — Kevin Garnett had 10 points and eight rebounds in his first game at the Boston Garden in more than seven months, and the Celtics beat the New York Knicks 96-82 in an exhibition game on Friday night.

Rasheed Wallace played his first game for the Celtics in Boston and had 13 points and 12 rebounds. He even avoided drawing a technical foul from the replacement referees after picking one up in the preseason opener.

There were no apparent issues with the substitute officials, who called 75 fouls in Boston’s 96-90 loss to Houston in Hidalgo, Texas, on Wednesday night. The NBA has locked out its regular referees because of a labor dispute.

Kendrick Perkins scored 14 points, Ray Allen had 13 and Paul Pierce scored nine on 4-for-12 shooting for Boston.