BOSTONWith about as good a poker face as you'll find, Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green said facing his former team for the first time since they traded him was just another game on the docket.
And while his post-game comments were more of the same, his play told a different - a much different - story.
Green had the kind of high impact game the Celtics can't get enough of, the kind of game that makes Boston an extremely tough team to beat - even for the reigning Western Conference champion Thunder whose last-minute rally was not enough to prevent Boston from claiming a 108-100 victory.
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Paul Pierce led all Celtic scorers with 27 points, but there was no mistaking the impact made by Green who had 17 points off the bench on 6-for-11 shooting.
His 17 points scored was not only a season high, but it was also more than the entire Thunder bench which tallied 13 points.
"Jeff Green was spectacular tonight," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers.
Especially in how he made Kevin Durant work at both ends of the floor.
Durant, a childhood of Green's since the two were high school stars, was not surprised to see his former teammate play so well.
"Jeff is a really, really good player," Durant said. "His role is a little bit different here than it was with us. He's coming off the bench and giving them a good punch."
And that punch left the Thunder flat on their backs on more than one occasion.
Even with one of his strongest games to date under his belt, Green was clearly not satisfied with his play as a whole - especially in defending Durant who is once again among the NBA's best scorers.
Durant had a game-high 29 points, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter.
"He's damn near 7-feet, but the handle that he (has) and the way he can shoot, it's tough," Green said. "So you just gotta make every shot for him tough."
Pierce was among those pleased to see Green deliver the kind of performance that seemed standard practice for Green and the C's during the preseason .
But as the level of competition picked up, the same could not be said for the consistency of Green's play.
Whether it had an impact on his game is debatable, but there's no argument about whether Green was aware of the growing number of critics who had doubts in his ability to help the Celtics be successful.
"When you're not playing well, you think way too much," Rivers said. "I told him (Friday) morning, 'just go play. Things will work out. You may not play well and you may, just play.'"
Rivers added, "Jeff wants to do well. It's not like he doesn't want to play well. He wants to do well for this team. He hears it, he knows it. And I thought he did it tonight."
Added Green, "I was aggressive, attacking the rim; just trying to make plays ... being aggressive that's what I gotta do. I just gotta find my niche and I just gotta work at it and continue to stay positive and continue to be aggressive."
Pierce echoed similar thoughts on what Green has to do in order to help the Celtics.
"When he's aggressive like that, he's gonna give you double figure games ... he's a tough (player to) guard," Pierce said. "It's just about him trying to reach his full potential. He just needs to keep his confidence and continue to be aggressive."
And maybe, just maybe, treat every opponent like he did his former Oklahoma City teammates.
Rivers isn't sure if seeing his former team provided some added incentive for Green to play as he did on Friday.
"I hope if that's what it is, they need to bring that jersey, Oklahoma jersey around," Rivers said.