BOSTON -- Jason Terry made no secret of his excitement to sign with the Boston Celtics this summer. After his first game in green and white, he didn't hide his disappointment in his debut.
"It was a bad performance for me," Terry said. "Again, defensively not being able to be assertive and get my hands on a lot more balls. Always looking to make an impact on both ends of the floor, but defensively tonight I didn't have my best game."
Terry scored eight points off 2-for-7 shooting from the field in 25 minutes. He spent most of his night defending former Celtic Ray Allen, who finished the night with 19 points (5-7 FG, 2-3 3PG, 7-8 FT).
"They played their game," he said of the Heat. "They did a great job executing their system tonight."
Terry dismissed emotions as a factor in his performance, noting that they play into all of his games. He, like many of the Celtics, are focused on piecing together all of their new players to find a consistent flow. Head coach Doc Rivers was honest but not overly concerned about what he saw from Terry on Opening Night.
"Not a great game but he's got 81 more," said Rivers. "He'll make up for it."