“I expect them to cheer for their team like they always do, outside of that, I don’t know,” Durant said when asked about the reception of the TD Garden fans. “I’m just trying to lock in and focus on our team and our game. The fans are going to be the fans. They are going to enjoy the game and as the game goes along, they are going to boo, they are going to cheer. So it is what it is.”

Durant made it apparent at Friday morning’s shootaround that he has moved on from the subject of his free agency, but did laud the city of Boston and the Celtics for their free-agent presentation that included Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Kevin Durant returns to TD Garden for the first time since he decided to pass on the Celtics’ maximum contract offer and sign with the Golden State Warriors.


The Celtics became contenders for Durant’s services and perhaps even more so once the 2013-14 MVP decided to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he had been a seven-time All-Star.

“I met with them and they were really good,” Durant said of his meeting with the Celtics in the Hamptons. “I was really impressed by it. It’s hard for me to say how close each team was. I’m not going to go into that, but they were very impressive.”

When asked another question about Boston’s presentation, Durant said: “Do we really want to open this back up? I mean I got much respect for everybody on that team. I know AB (Avery Bradley), I know Isaiah (Thomas), Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder came (to the meeting) and we had a nice talk.

“Like I said, they were very impressive. The city of Boston is one of the best cities in the league and I really respect how they approach the game, how they play the game. That was it. I’m not going to go into depth on what was said (in the meeting) but it was pretty good.”


Durant did go into depth about his relationship with Bradley, who also played at the University of Texas but decided to stay out of the Celtics’ recruitment of Durant because of their close friendship.

“Not to put anything on him but he didn’t care, he’s my friend before all of this,” Durant said. “We’re close before all of this. To him it didn’t really matter where I went to play basketball. But he didn’t talk to me about it; he didn’t ask me anything; he didn’t try to pitch me on anything but I know the level of respect he has for this organization, but I think being (my) friend was even more important to him.

“Those are the type of people that you really appreciate and really love. Me and AB, I’ve been knowing him since he was a junior in high school and when we came to Texas we kind of bunked up together during summer school and worked out every single day. That’s my guy, man. I got nothing but love for AB. I’m excited that he’s out there playing extremely well. He has a huge role on this team and a lot of people look to him as a defender but he’s rounded out his game very nicely.

“Me and AB are very tight.”


Warriors at a glance

■ When, where: Friday, 8 p.m., at TD Garden.

■ TV, radio: CSN, WEEI (93.7).

■ Scoring: Kevin Durant 27.9, Stephen Curry 27.9, Klay Thompson 18.5.

■ Rebounding: Draymond Green 9.8, Durant 8.0, Zaza Pachulia 5.4.

■ Assists: Green 6.9, Curry 6.0, Durant 4.1.

■ Head to head: This is the first of two meetings. The teams split two games last season.

■ Miscellany: The Warriors have won five straight and 9 of 10 . . . Curry, who leads the league in 3-point attempts (110) and makes (51), tweaked his ankle in Wednesday’s win over Toronto but is probable.

Follow Gary Washburn on Twitter at @GwashburnGlobe