Kevin Garnett’s sleek, chiseled frame is the antithesis of a nose guard’s. Yet there was the Boston Celtics forward crouched down in a four-point stance while guarding David West at the top of the key in the middle of the third quarter of Friday night’s game against the New Orleans Hornets.

The move set the capacity TD Banknorth Garden to buzzing. There were a number of chuckles and snorts from those who thought that Garnett was recreating one of those silly basketball scenes from “Teen Wolf.” Mostly, though, there was the jaw-dropping realization that, clearly, Garnett is going out of his mind this year to win.

Reading Garnett’s comments after the game, it was clear this wasn’t like one of those contrived floor-slapping things Duke players do when they’re trying to convince everybody, especially themselves, they can play defense. He said he didn’t even remember doing it, like he doesn’t remember doing a lot of things on the court.

Garnett was ticked that West had torched him for 37 when the Celtics lost in New Orleans. He said he took it personally, and he had been preparing himself since Thursday’s practice to not let it happen again. Between that and his pregame/pre-second half ritual where he appears to be engaging the post of the hoop in front of the Celtic bench in deep conversation, Garnett had worked himself into such a frenzy that West should feel fortunate the man didn’t start nipping at his ankles while he was four-on-the-floor.

Whether it was premeditated or not, the Ted Washington imitation had an undeniable effect on Boston’s defensive intensity the rest of the game. It was like Garnett burst out of his stance, tackled West in the backfield and turned a 2nd-and-6 into a 3rd-and-13. The Celtics outscored the Hornets 19-7 the remainder of the third quarter to jack a one-point lead up to 13. New Orleans scored just 32 points in the second half, after putting up 60 in the first half. Rajon Rondo held Chris Paul to one field goal the rest of the game. Leon Powe took more charges than the 20th Maine on Little Round Top. The Celtics had forced yet another opponent into a second-half submission.

It’s doubtful this latest example of Garnett’s influence over his team’s collective psyche would help convince the NBA’s ballot-casters to give him his second MVP. Paul Pierce was nearly as inspiring on the offensive end (27 points on just 11 field goal attempts, plus nine assists). Judging by the “MVP” chants when Pierce and Garnett stepped to the free throw line, Celtics fans seem themselves to be divided over who is “the Man,” so how can we expect newspaper scribes who see Boston on an irregular basis to choose one over the other and over Lebron James or Chris Paul or Kobe Bryant.

Besides, why does the individual recognition even matter this year,especially to those of us old enough to have experienced the extreme ends of the spectrum between Banner No. 16 in 1986 and Failed Lottery Tank Job No. 2 last year? I mean, I can understand the Generation Y-sters out there jumping so eagerly on the K.G. for MVP bandwagon because they don’t know any better. They don’t know what’s really been missing the last 20 years.

But, if you’re old enough to remember M.L. Carr’s towel-waving technique, you’re also old enough to remember that Larry Bird’s three MVP trophies between 1984 and 1986 as little more than high-priced doorstops.

Kevin Garnett is cut from the same cloth. I doubt he would even bend over to pick up another MVP trophy. But he’s clearly willing to get down-and-dirty for the only trophy that really counts.