Getty Images Marcus Smart reacts with Kemba Walker of the Boston Celtics during the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals
For the first time since the Celtics locker room implosion following Game 2‘s loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, Marcus Smart spoke to the media Monday afternoon.
Smart, who finished with 20 points on 5-of-10 attempts, six assists in Saturday’s 117-106 Game 3 win over Miami, was asked to describe the locker room moments after Game 2 last Thursday.
“Electrifying, what happened in the locker room” Smart replied. “We’re a family, you know. Families fight all the time. I fight with my brothers all the time. But at the end of the day, we can fight with each other and nobody else can. It happens between families, especially a family like us that’s been together for so long. It’s going to happen, we got a lot of guys with feelings on their sleeve, hearts on their sleeves; they play with their heart night in and night out.”
“We weren’t supposed to be happy down 2-0, especially those two games that we gave up. We’re playing against a great-minded team and we can’t have those lapses like that. Of course, emotions are going to fly but like I said, we’re a family, it happens.”
Marcus Smart: ‘I Knew What Type Of Guys We Were’
What have you learned about yourself and your teammates since the altercation?
“Things I already knew,” Smart replied. “I knew what type of guys we were, the type of team we have. I knew we were emotional. I knew we were passionate and I knew we all love each other but I also learned, not just myself, but my teammates, we all grew more through that adversity. I’ve always said ‘before you see the rainbow, it has to storm.’ For us, that was a storm we had to go through. We found our happy place.”
That happy place saved the series. It guided the Celtics to a much-needed Game 3 win, pulling Boston 2-1 in its best-of-7 series and setting the stage for a critical Game 4 Wednesday night.
Marcus Smart’s Maturing Moment
Jaylen Brown (26), Jayson Tatum (25), Kemba Walker (21), and Smart (20) all finished with 20+ points and combined for a whopping 92 of the Celtics’ 117 total.
“Like I said, families fight,” Smart added. “But for us to be able to respond like we did, to be able to have that growth, shows a lot.”
Did the argument help mature you?
“Definitely,” Smart replied. “Just from the simple fact that, not only being able to express myself but also being able to listen to my teammates. Listen to what they had to say, listen to what my coaching staff had to say, and just really taking things to heart and try to go out there and not let that affect me, how I play. The past, I (tend to) let those get into my head; take myself out the game but like I said, the way I responded, the way my teammates responded, it showed that we’re as close as ever even though we go through adversity, still, we’re a family.
We’re going to need to have moments like that where we go through adversity, we say what we have to say. We all come together, we get our emotions out and then we take it out on the other team.”
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