Celtics fans boo Warriors coach Kerr, let him know they didn't like Tatum's Olympic playing time

BOSTON (AP) — Golden State coach Steve Kerr was reminded Wednesday during pregame introductions that Boston’s fans didn’t like his playing time for Celtics' star Jayson Tatum at this past summer’s Paris Olympics.

Kerr was loudly booed after the Warriors' starting lineup was introduced to the TD Garden crowd.

Tatum scored 32 points in Boston’s 118-112 loss to the Warriors.

“It wasn't on my mind,” Tatum said of the Olympics. “It was just another Wednesday, another game, another opportunity to be the best player I can be. Another day to try and get a win.”

He's said before that after the Olympics people were telling him how he should react and what he should do, but he went into Wednesday trying not to overact to the first meeting against Kerr.

He explained that as he's matured, listening to others isn't going to change what he does.

“That's part of this job. That's what I've been dealing with my entire career,'' he said. ”People are going to be loud, people are going to be mean, whatever. ... I'm going to approach things how I want to approach them, what I feel is sincere and who I am as a person."

Tatum, on the gold medal winning team along with teammates Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, didn’t play either game against Serbia.

“I don’t give it a whole lot of thought other than I didn’t enjoy not playing Jayson against Serbia, not playing Joel (Embiid) against South Sudan,” Kerr said when asked if he had any regrets.

“Those are not fun decisions, but our guys were all amazing,” he said. “They committed to each other, they committed to winning the gold medal. They brought the gold home for their country.”

He seemed to expect the reaction when he was asked what's the loudest he's been booed.

“I don’t think anybody actually cared about me to boo me,” he said.

Tatum’s first basket came when he was fouled after hitting a jumper in front of the Warriors' bench late in the opening quarter, bringing loud cheers. He scored 17 points in the third quarter, helping Boston wipe out most of an 11-point halftime deficit.

Kerr said before the game that some fans might be cheering him, too.

“We’ll see how it goes tonight. I’m sure a lot of Celtics fans are going to cheer me for being part of Team USA, winning a gold medal for the country,” he said. “I’m a patriotic American. I love my country. Three Celtics on the team, who won a world championship, and two months later won a gold medal. Pretty incredible stuff.”

But, if they were, it was drowned out by loud boos.

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Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, left, drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, left, drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr calls to his players during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr reacts during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans in San Francisco, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr yells from the sideline during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets, Saturday Nov. 2, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba was left reeling Thursday after a fierce Category 3 hurricane ripped across the island and knocked out the country’s power grid.

The magnitude of the impact remained unclear through the early hours of the day, but forecasters warned that Hurricane Rafael could bring “life-threatening” storm surges, winds and flash floods to Cuba after ravaging parts of the Cayman Islands and Jamaica.

On Wednesday evening, massive waves lashed at Havana’s shores as sharp winds and rain whipped at the historic cityscape, leaving trees littered on flooded roads. Much of the city was dark and deserted.

As it plowed across Cuba, the storm slowed to a Category 2 hurricane chugging into the Gulf of Mexico near northern Mexico and southern Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

But many Cubans were left picking up the pieces from the night before, with a strange sense of déjà vu after a rocky few weeks in the Caribbean nation.

In October, the island was hit by a one-two punch. First, Cuba was roiled by stretching island-wide blackouts stretching on for days, a product of the island’s energy crisis. Shortly after, it was slapped by another powerful hurricane that killed at least six people in the eastern part of the island.

It stoked discontent already simmering in Cuba amid an ongoing economic crisis, which has pushed many to migrate from Cuba.

While the State Department issued a travel warning for Cuba because of the story, the Cuban government also raised an alarm, asking citizens to hunker down.

Classes and public transport were suspended on parts of the island and authorities canceled flights in and out of Havana and Varadero. Thousands of people in the west of the island were evacuated as a preventative measure, and many more like Silvia Pérez, a 72-year-old retiree living in a coastal area of Havana, scrambled to prepare.

“This is a night I don’t want to sleep through, between the battering air and the trees,” Pérez said. “I’m scared for my friends and family.”

The concern came after the storm knocked out power in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, where it also unleased flooding and landslides.

Rafael is the 17th named storm of the season.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted the 2024 hurricane season was likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast called for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

Waves break on the beach during the passing of Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A man walks through the wind and rain brought by Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A man walks through the wind and rain brought by Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People at a bus stop shield themselves with cardboard amid wind and rain during the passage of Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A man walks through the wind and rain brought by Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A Cuban flag shredded by the winds of Hurricane Rafael flies above the statue of General Calixto Garcia in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)