Return of Smart beats Celtics’ rout of Grizzlies
say later that he was just surprised that Smart did not start crying.
“[The fans] allowed me to grow,” Smart said before the game. “They allowed me to see a different side of myself, and they watched me become a man. So my favorite things will always be here, but they definitely have shaped my life in more ways than one.”
At the start of the season, this figured to be a matchup of two of the NBA’s best teams. The Celtics have done their part, surging to the top of the league.
But Memphis’s roster has been decimated by injuries. The Grizzlies had just eight players available, including three on 10-day contracts and three on twoway deals. The massive personnel divide all but ensured that this night would turn into a rout, and it did, with the Celtics rolling to a 131-91 win.
The game’s borderline irrelevancy did create space for Smart to truly be embraced as he returned for the first time since being traded to Memphis last summer. If he was hounding Tatum and taking charges in a tense game, it might have felt a bit different.
“It was an incredible moment,” Tatum said. “You know what he meant to the team, what he meant to the organization, what he meant to the city. He was loved. He was obviously a fan favorite. So for him to come back and get the kind of reception and love that he did, it was cool to see.”
The first big ovation came when Smart walked onto the court near the end of pregame warm-ups and was shown on the videoboard.
After his first-quarter tribute, an organic “We love Marcus” chant started in the lower bowl and quickly spread through the arena. Midway through the second quarter, Smart also received the Celtics’ “Hero Among Us” honor in recognition of his work in the Boston community. The ovations continued.
When a player leaves a franchise in free agency or has a messy ending, these homecomings sometimes turn sour. But that was not the case with Smart. Even though his play was sometimes polarizing, he was a blue-collar Celtic in a bluecollar city. He never wanted to leave. He also cared, so people here cared, too.
“Boston has real love for Marcus,” said Al Horford, who noted Smart’s presence was part of the reason he signed with the Celtics as a free agent in 2016. “And even though he’s on another team, it doesn’t change how we feel about him, and also the fans showed how they feel about him.”
There was a game mixed in with this salute. It was just about as lopsided as expected, even if it turned into an afterthought.
Tatum had 34 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists to lead the Celtics. Kristaps Porzingis added 26 points and 8 rebounds, and both sat out the fourth quarter because their services were no longer needed.
The Celtics raced to a 22-11 lead but allowed the Grizzlies to linger for a bit because of a 4-for-17 start from the 3point line. Memphis mustered one hot streak, getting 3-pointers from three players over a two-minute, 20-second stretch to pull within 40-38 in the second quarter.
In the aftermath of Thursday’s loss to the Lakers, who were without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, that 2point lead was at least slightly discouraging. But Los Angeles had a roster filled with full-time NBA players. The Grizzlies have been forced to cobble a temporary one together piece by piece, and it seemed clear that the dam would eventually break.
The Celtics closed the quarter with a 30-12 surge, with Tatum leading the way. They forced seven third-quarter turnovers and led by as many as 27 points, allowing the starters to mostly watch the fourth from the bench.
“The game went how it was supposed to go from the standpoint of I thought we played well, we executed, and we came with the right mind-set,” coach Joe Mazzulla said. “You can’t not appreciate the times where you just come in, do your job, and get out. I think that’s important.”
Jordan Walsh’s dunk with eight minutes left in the game, his first NBA basket, was the highlight of the fourth quarter.
After the final buzzer, after some “Thank you, Marcus” chants, Smart made one final lap.
He hugged former teammates and walked across the court to say hello to Tatum’s mother, Brandy. Wherever he went, fans nearby roared for him, and he waved and touched his heart before dipping back through the tunnel toward his team’s locker room, and out of sight.