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Things got a bit chippy during Saturday night’s affair between the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks. While driving to the hoop late in the fourth period, Hawks star point guard Trae Young was fouled by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart.
After the whistle had blown, the two proceeded to shove one another and, ultimately, spilled onto the floor before being separated by fellow teammates. Young would receive a technical foul for his role in the altercation while Smart was ultimately ejected.
Following the contest, Celtics veteran big man Al Horford addressed how the team was able to maintain their poise despite the escalated tempers, stating:
“We got some adversity there. Not ideal but as a group, we have to regroup. We have to get it together and we have to move on. We can’t have him be in those positions and do that. It puts us in a tough place but it doesn’t matter what it is. We have to keep it moving and we did that tonight.”
After the spat between Smart and Young, the Celtics went on a 5-4 run to secure a 134-125 win over their divisional rivals while Horford would finish the night with a respectable stat line of 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal on 42.9% shooting from the floor and 60.0% shooting from deep.
Trae Young Comments on Celtics Scuffle
During his own post-game media session, Trae Young was asked by a reporter if he had received an explanation as to why he received a technical foul after the scuffle with Marcus Smart.
In response, the two-time All-Star stated that he had not while refusing to discuss the matter any further.
“I mean, nah, I didn’t get an explanation on why I got a tech,” Young said. “But yeah, nah. Nothing much to say.”
In 33 minutes played, Young put forth a stellar performance, dropping 35 points, three rebounds, and 13 assists while shooting 44.4% shooting from the floor and 36.4% shooting from deep.
With this loss to the Celtics, Atlanta drops back down to a mere .500 record of 34-34 and resides in the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference standings.
Smart Has Been Preaching for Toughness From Celtics
During the days leading up to their affair against the Hawks, Marcus Smart was telling Abby Chin on NBC Sports Boston that he believes the Celtics need to start playing with the brand of toughness that they were exuding early on in the season, saying that “having that tough mentality” and “throwing the first punch” will help them moving forward.
Perhaps his altercation with Young was a purposeful display of the type of “tough mentality” he was referring to.
However, such an act comes at a rather questionable time when considering that Smart was just on record stating that he feels referees have a “personal vendetta” against him.
Should he be trying to avoid having such a stigma in the eyes of the league’s officiating crew, maybe avoiding scrums of any kind could be argued as being his best course of action.
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