Marcus Smart returns in Celtics win
BOSTON, MA » Thirty-three seconds.
Forty-five days and one thumb surgery after Marcus Smart took part in his last NBA game, it took him 33 whole seconds to throw his body onto the floor in pursuit of a loose ball he had created.
Prior to the game, someone had foolishly questioned Smart as to whether he might be a little tentative against the Bucks while trying to protect the thumb from re-injury. He brushed the query aside politely, saying that playing to not get hurt is when you get hurt.
But, seriously, was this even an issue? Like, have you met Marcus Smart?
That doesn’t mean a player should have no concern for his well-being in a situation like this. His teammates certainly understood that.
Which is why Kyrie Irving was so animated when he rose from the bench in his finely tailored suit, showing no ill effects from his own surgery.
“He’s crazy,” shouted Irving. “I love it. I love it.”
Irving’s knee repair has him out for the rest of the season, but Smart became available when cleared earlier in the day. And it didn’t take him long to hit the parquet in the same general vicinity that he did on March 11 against the Pacers. He finished that game, scoring 20 points in 36 minutes before realizing the soreness in his right thumb might be a little more serious than first perceived. Without his usual adrenaline overflow, the damn thing hurt.
And without Smart, the Celtics’ defense had been pained in this series. They’d allowed Milwaukee to shoot 54.2 percent from the floor and average 108.3 points as the series became even at 2-2.
So it was with great anticipation that the Garden gathering gave Smart his first standing ovation just for getting off the Celtics pine and head to the scorer’s table with 4:52 left in the first quarter.
His sneakers were officially on the court at 4:08 and his body was officially the same at 3:35.
A little over a minute later, Milwaukee reached for its bread and butter — a lob pass to Giannis Antetokounmpo at the hoop. But Smart, 7 inches his junior in height and with much less of a reach, went up and snuffed the attempt.
After returning to Earth, Smart pumped his fist and the crowd lost its collective mind again. Indeed, this would be a different kind of night for the Celts.
“It means a lot for our team,” said Al Horford after Smart had gone for nine points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 24 minutes in a 92-87 victory that brought the Celts one win away from the next playoff round.
“I think I said it early in the year that he was kind of like the soul of our team. Just everything that he brings — his toughness, unselfishness, just a hardnosed player — and we fed off his energy tonight. I felt like the crowd fed off of it, we fed off if it, and it’s just good to have him back.
“This has been genuinely a really nice surprise for our group, because I didn’t think he was coming back. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, even when I heard that it was a possibility. So we’re just happy to have him back, and he had a huge impact on the game tonight.”
The game was tied at 13 when Smart entered, and of the 12 combined points scored in the quarter’s remainder, the Celtics had 10. The Bucks made one shot.
The Celts would lead by as many as 16 and see that advantage dwindle to five at the start of the final quarter. But here Smart would make another strikingly large play — from the floor.
Smart had gotten the ball knocked away from him and was on the court at the free throw line after retrieving it. Two Bucks — Antetokounmpo and Thon Maker — were atop him when he spotted Al Horford on his right. Smart somehow made the awkward pass, and Horford stepped in and laid it in to give the Celts an 86-79 lead with 28.1 seconds left.
“Yeah, Danny (Ainge) told me to take credit for that,” said Brad Stevens. “That’s just like, ‘ Uh- oh, what mess have I gotten myself into? I’ve got to figure out a way to get out of it.’ Smart’s pretty good at getting out of some of those.”
And good, as well, at setting the defensive tone. The Bucks shot just 36.8 percent last night.