Kevin Garnett, when he wants to be, is one of the best interviews in the NBA, maybe the very best. He’s funny, he’s entertaining, he’s colorful and he’s powerfully emotional.

After Paul Pierce passed Larry Bird for second place on the Celtics all-time scoring list, Garnett spoke at length yesterday about his friendship with The Truth.

A transcript follows.

On his first meeting with Paul Pierce:

“The first time we were on the court, it was beautiful,” he said. “First time I stepped into Inglewood High, we stepped on the floor, we dapped, said what’s up, had a small conversation, we practiced, and it was instant chemistry. Later on I met his mom and his family, and we’ve been like brothers ever since. Obviously he went to Kansas, I went my way. It’s crazy, we would bump into each other in the summer time. I moved out to LA, a lot of UCLA workouts in the summer. And then finally to this right here [being teammates on the Celtics], it just comes full circle. It’s a little more special for me just because of our backgrounds, our childhoods and what we come from.”

On what Pierce was like in high school:

“Paul was more like a four. In high school you play four or five, you’re the biggest kid on your team or one of them. Paul’s from a rough neighborhood, from brothers and a loving mother and family, so he always had a sense of character and depth to him. When it came to basketball, he was always in the backyard working. I remember he was always talking about David Robinson. I couldn’t understand that one,” he joked, “but it wasn’t for me to understand. But you saw the drive. You saw what motivated him. You saw what pushed him. Being in LA, other players were considered better than him and that drove him from day one. We just have a lot of similarities, a lot of things pushing us, a lot of things driving us as young guys. We just so happen to be best friends and have a lot in common.”

On whether, when he was in high school, Garnett would have believed somebody who told him all that he and Pierce would accomplish, and that they’d come together in Boston:

“I would totally believe them. I would totally believe them. I’d be like, ‘You’re crazy as hell, but I believe you.’ This is just good, that we can sit back and joke about holes in our shoes and playing with itty-bitty shorts and all this other stuff. And then, to be full circle right here, it’s great. So congratulations, Truth.”

In the eye of Boston sports, surpassing Larry Bird is overtaking the golden deity of hard work, floor burns and triple doubles. It’s overcoming the patron saint of jump shots, floor vision and well-deserved cockiness. It’s taking a scalpel and engraving your name directly above the king’s.

Bird will always wear a crown in Boston, but it’s time to start fitting Paul Pierce for a matching diadem.

If you want an argument for why Danny Ainge should not consider trading Pierce, regardless of what happens with the Celtics during the remainder of Pierce’s contract, watch the highlight of The Truth drilling a three from the right wing with 10:23 remaining in last night’s the third quarter. Watch his hands rise to the rafters. Watch Jermaine O’Neal draw the best-timed technical foul of his career. Watch the crowd collectively rise to its feet and throw 14 seasons worth of cheers Pierce’s way, remaining on its feet well after play resumed. Watch all those things and measure loyalty against rebuilding from scratch, and think about what it would feel like to see Pierce wearing another jersey, suiting up for the opponent, and ask yourself if there are certain prizes more important than winning.

Before Pierce overtook Bird for second place on the Boston Celtics scoring list with a three-pointer over the outstretched (and lumpy) arm of Boris Diaw, Tommy Heinsohn tried to explain how players like Pierce make commentating fun. I’m paraphrasing here, but Heinsohn said something to the effect of, “I get to watch a lot of players grow, a lot of people grow up. When Pierce came to Boston, he didn’t know up from down. He played on bad teams, did some dumb things, but he kept growing. He fought through the bad teams, fought through his own ignorant comments, fought through being stabbed in the back, and found the time to master his craft. Want to know the type of guy Pierce is? When they asked him to be the captain, he bought books on leadership and studied how to better himself.”

Pierce is often methodical in his motion, so we underrate his athletic ability. He entered the NBA with a complete arsenal of skills, so we overlook the work he put in to add his present layer of polish. He instantly fit so seamlessly with the Big Three that we hardly noticed the transformation to his game, the changes he made to fit more easily into the machine. It has become easy to overlook Pierce’s greatness — he has never won a scoring title, never earned an MVP trophy, never been named to the First-Team All-NBA — but 14 years later, with a long bomb from the right wing, leaning to the side to wish it in just like he’s done so many times throughout the years, Pierce trails only John Havlicek on the scoring list of the world’s winningest basketball franchise.

Chris Herren, who you might know from the ESPN documentary “Unguarded”, or from his book “Basketball Junkie,” or perhaps you’ve heard of his drug troubles, or maybe you remember him from his days as a temporary starting point guard for the Boston Celtics, remembers more regrets than most. One thing he regrets is not learning from his former teammate Paul Pierce.

“This is your job. Treat it like your job. I look back in shame that I used to pull up to the arena and spend an hour and 45 minutes (there),” Herren said during a December speaking engagement in front of the NBA D-League’s Springfield Armor and Maine Red Claws. “You’re getting paid to work. There ain’t a job in this world that’s two hours long. There’s nowhere in this world you can go get paid for two hours. Paul Pierce showed me what it was to work. He turned those days into eight-hour work days. He worked like the guy picking up garbage. Not two hours.”

Herren said he would arrive at practice and see Pierce in soaking wet clothes, already having put himself through a pre-practice workout. And when Herren left the gym after practice, Pierce would be asking the equipment manager for another pair of mesh shorts, so that he could do more shooting drills by himself. He worked like the guy picking up garbage, when in reality he was already an NBA All-Star during just his third season as a pro, at age 24. This is how you average 16.5 points as a rookie and never below 18.3 in the 13 seasons since. This is how you become great. This is how you scale the Celtics history books. This is how you pass Larry Bird.

Havlicek remains 4,598 points ahead of Pierce, who now has 21,797. Though hardly a given, it is possible to imagine a day a few years from now when Pierce passes Havlicek to become the greatest scorer in franchise history. Then, like tonight, the crowd would be filled with memories both good and bad — Pierce asking for a trade; scoring 46 points after halftime to defeat the New Jersey Nets; wrapping a towel on his head during a postgame press conference; hitting a jumper over Ron Artest after getting his pants dropped to his ankles; standing at the free throw line during Game 7 against Cleveland and sealing a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals; leading the Celtics to a 17th NBA championship — and the overwhelming knowledge that Pierce has grown from a boy to a man in the City of Champions.

To set records and win championships in Boston is expected. To pass Larry Bird is to float above the clouds and proclaim yourself an equal to the shining sun. To mature and to grow and to become someone an entire city can be proud of — there are more than 21,797 reasons why the TD Garden crowd briefly refused to sit down.

Many years from now, when I have no teeth and drink Ensure by the gallon, I will speak glowingly of the night Paul Pierce passed Larry Bird on the Boston Celtics scoring lost. By then I will likely forget his points came against the Charlotte Bobcats. I will forget Sasha Pavlovic ever existed. I will even forget the names of my closest acquaintances.

But I hope to never forget the love that flowed from fans’ mouths and made its way down to the parquet floor to meet a smiling, mature Paul Pierce, the second most prolific scorer (and counting) in the history of basketball’s most successful franchise.

Plenty more coming later.

Is sweat pouring from Greg Stiemsma’s skin as tonight approaches? Stiemsma, the lone Boston Celtic on a non-guaranteed contract this season, will find out by 6 p.m. tonight whether the team intends to guarantee his contract for the rest of the season.

According to the Boston Globe, Stiemsma’s contract is expected to be guaranteed before the deadline. A month or two ago, when Stiemsma was garnering comparisons to Bill Russell and blocking any shot released within a two-mile radius of his lengthy arms, the question hardly even warranted asking. But Stiemsma has played just 11 minutes this month and hasn’t played more than 10 minutes in a single contest since Jan. 18. Since then, Stiemsma’s contributions have noticeably regressed, JaJuan Johnson has started to make an impact and Chris Wilcox has stolen almost all of Stiemsma’s minutes.

Does that mean the Celtics will (or should) cut Stiemsma? No. They would be right to keep him around, if only because they don’t have very much center depth. Stiemsma provides some insurance in case Jermaine O’Neal injures himself while eating a meatball grinder, tying his shoes or reaching for his cane after a game.

Still, the big fella’s role has dwindled, and the Celtics could want to keep a roster spot open for when players are bought out later in the season — lawdy knows Danny Ainge loves the likes of Stephon Marbury, Carlos Arroyo, Mikki Moore and Troy Murphy.

Brandon Bass (swollen knee) is expected to return to the Boston Celtics tonight after a one-game absence, a development which should add instant scoring to the bench but might keep us from excitedly (and repeatedly) shouting “JAJUAN MOTHER-FLIPPING JOHNSON!” at our television screens. For those of you fretting about my latter point, do not worry too much — we can still scream “CHRIS WILCOX, MOTHER-FLIPPERS!” with everything our lungs can muster.

In other injury news, Marquis Daniels (sprained ankle) and Keyon Dooling (hip) are expected to miss at least one more outing. I would be worried, but A) the Celtics have won eight of nine games, B) they are playing the Charlotte Bobcats, C) for once, the Celtics actually seem to have enough depth to survive peripheral injuries (and even tread water in the case of more serious injuries, God forbid), and D) they are playing the Charlotte Bobcats, losers of 11 straight contests.

And he’s just nine points shy of Larry Bird for second on the Celtics’ all-time scoring list. Not bad company.

If the Patriots play defense like that and sign Chris Wilcox as a defensive end, the Super Bowl will be a blowout.

P.S. – JAJUAN JOHNSON!!!

Here we are on Super Bowl Sunday, Boston sports fans hoping Tom Brady can polish off Eli Manning like he could not do four years ago, not aware exactly what a loss would mean to Brady’s legacy, but knowing a win would catapult him into a stratosphere reserved for quarterbacking gods.

Before the Patriots kick off, the Celtics host a scrum of their own, against the Memphis Grizzlies. While waiting for football, commercials and (hopefully) tasty buffalo wings, we can all daydream that Boston’s recent resurgence amounts to something more lasting than a few early-season wins.

Out of nowhere, with little evidence that they could, the Celtics are forging an identity as men who can’t be moved. Rajon Rondo fell to injury and two raw backup point guards stepped in admirably, leading the C’s to a 6-2 record. Paul Pierce needed a few weeks, but he has returned to the indomitable scorer whose methodical forays to the hoop reveal a level of footwork for which most ballerinas would strive. Kevin Garnett has preached about bar fights and screamed in the faces of young infants, but he is resembling the two-way player of yesteryear who wreaks havoc on third-world countries and opposing teams.

The Celtics miss shots at times, but they respond by digging in defensively. Their starters struggle on occasion, but Bradley, Brandon Bass, Mickael Pietrus and Chris Wilcox rotate on a carousel to determine who will change the game’s complexion each night. The Celtics have not scored more than 100 points in any of their past eight games, but they are 7-1 in that span nonetheless.

Tough. It’s not a word I thought I would use to describe this unit, not when they were limping to a 5-8 start, executing offense like a second-grade in-town soccer team and rebounding the basketball like it was a grenade. But these Celtics are becoming easy to root for, not just because they are winning, but because they are winning due to contributions from every piece, because they are winning even when the hoop feels like it’s smaller than normal, because they are winning most nights due to effort and grit, rather than meshing talent.

Recently they are treating the regular season like a worthy challenger, an attitude Celtics fans have not reasonably been able to expect for a few years. Perhaps it’s the young legs being infused into the rotation. Perhaps, as Doc Rivers preached, it results from Boston’s purging of the knuckleheads. Perhaps it was waking up, looking in the mirror and seeing a 5-8 team staring back. Perhaps it’s something else. Whatever the catalyst, these Celtics were backed into a corner and came back spraying bullets.

They are hard-nosed again, at least temporarily. They scrap, even in the regular season. They fall down 27 points and decide giving up isn’t an option. They’ve lost one game since Jan. 20, and it was a late-game collapse to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They defeated Orlando twice, sending the Magic reeling. Or maybe they drop-kicked Orlando straight in the heart. They ousted the Pacers, responded to their one loss by holding off the Cavs (and The Energizer Bunny Anderson Varejao) two nights later, judo-chopped the Raptors in the jugular and overcame a slow start plus a putrid shooting night to push past the Knicks. These Celtics are starting to play winning basketball consistently, even when not operating at their finest; though recent history tells me the Celtics are not trustworthy during the regular season, I’m beginning to believe.

Maybe not believe they are contenders, but at least believe they are game competitors on a nightly basis. They’ll need to be against the Memphis Grizzlies, who fight for table scraps game in and game out. And after the Celtics game — win or lose  – we’ll have Tom Brady, Super Bowl commercials and tasty buffalo wings.

May Boston teams go 2-0, and all the ads be funny.