Celtics’ Marcus Smart: 3-Point Barrage Fueled by Raptors Trash Talk

Sixteen points. Only four times in Marcus Smart’s six-year Celtics career has he managed to score that much in a playoff game. One of those times was in Game 1 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoffs against the Raptors on Sunday.

The fifth time came Tuesday in Game 2—and it happened in the fourth quarter alone. Yes, Smart, after shooting a woeful 1-for-6 from the field in the first three quarters of the Celtics’ win over Toronto, went 5-for-7 in the pivotal fourth quarter, all shots coming from the 3-point line.

Three of those happened in rapid succession, soon after the Celtics began the final period down by 8 points. Smart hit a 3 in transition with just under 11 minutes to play in the game, then sank two more in a span of 1:13. He would hit two more and draw a foul on the final make, giving him 15 straight Boston points. The Raptors, as a team, scored 7 points in that span.

They were, in part, responsible for the onslaught, making the mistake of trash-talking Smart.

Celtics fans are particularly familiar by now with the boom-or-bust nature of Smart’s shooting. He can be downright frigid when he is not making shots but capable of heating up in a hurry. He said in his postgame interview that he never loses confidence in his scoring ability—and that he made sure the Raptors knew it.

“Never,” Smart said of the possibility of wavering confidence even when he is struggling with his shot. “You know, I’m laughing to myself and to my teammates and to my opponents sometimes, telling them, ‘Don’t give me a good look, all I need is one.’ We got confidence like that in our team where we have so many guys that you’re going to get open looks.”

---

Smart’s Celtics Teammates Showed an Outpouring of Love

There was much outpouring of love for Smart, a player team president Danny Ainge has called the Celtics’, “heart and soul,” in the aftermath of his clutch 3-point barrage.

Teammate Vincent Poirier, a little-used rookie, tweeted that everyone should, “have a Marcus Smart in your life.”

Teammate Jayson Tatum, who fed Smart with passes on the first three of his fourth-quarter 3-pointers, could only shake his head. “I ain’t never played with nobody like Smart. I ain’t never met nobody like Smart. He is one of a kind,” Tatum said.

Point guard Kemba Walker agreed.

“There’s only one Marcus Smart, let me tell you that,” Walker said after the game. “There’s only one. Different beast. I say it all the time, he is a monster. Love playing with that dude. His intensity is unmatched, he is just really fun to be on the court with.”

---

Smart Was Taunted by Raptors Players After Slow Start

Smart said he was able to derive some of his confidence and will from the Raptors themselves. After his big night in Game 1, Smart said some of Toronto’s players were reminding him that he was returning to form with his bad start in Game 2.

“Little bit,” Smart said, going on to rattle off some of what was said to him. “All my blanks are gone. Shot up all the shots I had. Made my first one that was it. I had to let them know I had a couple more in the chamber.”

He also had to let himself know that.

“I just told myself, the first half, the shots I was taking were rimming in and out,” Smart said. “They were great shots. I just kept telling myself, you just need one to go in and you’ll be right back there. When I saw the first one go in, I knew that, the next time I catch it, I’m shooting it.”

He did keep shooting it. And, five times in a row, he kept on making it.

READ NEXT: Swimming With Tacko Fall: Boston Celtics Let Loose on Off Day

0 Comments