NEW YORK -– Kevin Garnett beat DeMarcus Cousins to a loose ball near half court and started a two-on-one fast break.
Garnett gave the ball to Sergey Karasev, who returned the favor by throwing an alley-oop lob. The 38-year-old Garnett looked like he was 18 again, soaring and flushing the dunk with ease.
The Nets' bench exploded as Garnett's giddy teammates all celebrated.
Kevin Garnett
#2 PF
Brooklyn Nets
2015 STATS
- GM25
PPG7.4
RPG7.6
APG1.8
FG%.441
- FT%.848
The dunk gave the Nets a 13-point lead at the end of the third quarter en route to a 107-99 Brooklyn victory over Sacramento at Barclays.
Afterward, Garnett couldn't believe he was asked about the alley-oop, jokingly giving reporters a hard time for bringing up the dunk.
"Look, look, I can actually dunk, all right?" Garnett said. "If you start in the NBA, you should be able to dunk. I can dunk. Get the hell out of here with that. Gimme something else. It was a great pass by [Karasev]."
"I ain't dead," Garnett added.
Then another reporter joined the Garnett media scrum a few questions later and apologized before asking about the alley-oop.
"Oh stop it," said the prideful Garnett, who was in a good mood. "Are you serious? Hey listen, I know I am like 150 years in dog years. But I can actually dunk the ball.
"God, do I look that bad out there?" Garnett continued.
When reporters told him it was more about the impressive alley-oop, Garnett interjected.
"Nah, this is a low moment for me," Garnett said as reporters laughed along. "Everybody is like, 'Oh, you dunked!' That's a bad moment for me. My daughter is like, 'Daddy, you dunked!'"
"I'm like are you serious? I start in the NBA. I am hoping I can dunk. You can't start in the league if you can't dunk."
Nets head coach Lionel Hollins agreed, wondering what the big deal was.
"He's 7-foot tall," Hollins deadpanned. "So I would expect him to be able to dunk. He'll be dunking when he's 68."
While Garnett's alley-oop was highlight-worthy for sure, it wasn't the dunk of the night. Not even close. That honor belonged to Cousins, who threw down this nasty dunk over Mason Plumlee.
But Garnett deserves love for his dunk. Just don't bring it up to him next time you see him.
"I was in the moment," Garnett said. "Y'all just haters right now."