It was one of Marcus Smart’s favorite nights of the year, with yet another chance to guard Steph Curry.
Earlier on Wednesday the Celtics guard was already ramping up for the matchup, noting, “Love it. I gotta get my cardio in. Nah, I love it. It’s a great way for me as a defender to help me in my defensive game and to play against a team of their caliber for this team is big for us.”
Sure enough there they were in the second quarter, Smart diving for a loose ball as Curry attempted to reach in, injuring his left foot in the process and leaving the game for good. Smart then engaged in an animated discussion with Steve Kerr – the Warriors coach believing Smart improperly rolled into Curry.
Though he later expressed concern about Curry’s injury in the Celtics’ 110-88 win – they are now 6-1 on the road against Golden State going back to the 2015-16 season – Smart wasn’t about to apologize for playing hard.
“Calmer, definitely calmer. He’s doing what any coach, any player, any person would do and that’s backing up his guys,” Smart said of a second conversation he has with Kerr after the game. “He felt at the time, you know, a way, and we talked it out. But at the end of that conversation he told me ‘you one of the guys that I wish I had on my team-type. So me and Steve have that relationship with USA basketball, so he knows and I’m never trying to hurt anybody. He knows that since I’ve got in this league, I’ve been sacrificing my body for the better of my team and my teammates. So I get it. I understand. I hate to see it happen to anybody, especially playing and doing your job. I hate to see any injury, so I hope Steph’’s alright. We looked at it. I didn’t even see him, just saw the ball, I dove on the ball, and tried to make a play. And unfortunately that occurred so I’m really down right now about it. But that was it.”
For all of the shooters on the floor, especially on the Golden State side, this game was naturally dictated down the other end. The Celtics, the best defensive unit in the league, beat the No. 2 team in defensive rating. The Celtics also moved past Chicago, losers in Utah Wednesday night, into fourth place in the Eastern Conference – a high point for the C’s this season.
Jaylen Brown (26 points), Jayson Tatum (24) and Smart (20) all led the offense, the latter also with eight assists. He also combined with Robert Williams (eight points, nine rebounds, four blocks) to make every possession a chore for the normally fluid Warriors.
And as evidenced by his ability to beat Curry to that loose ball, Smart remains the main tone setter – apologies to the Timelord – on the best defense in the league.
“I didn’t think it was that dirty — that’s just what Smart does,” said Brown. “First to the floor, you know what I mean. It’s basketball. It’s unfortunate that Steph got hurt and stuff like that. It was unintentional. But that’s what Marcus does: He is the first to the floor every time. Both teams know that. So I don’t know what the controversy is about. But that’s what Smart does.”
Nor did Ime Udoka have a problem with one of his players arguing with an opposing coach.
“Well the play that they were complaining about was totally legal, not malicious at all to me. One guy dove for it, one guy reached for it, and it was a loose ball on the floor, so I don’t think there was anything there to really complain about,” said the Celtics coach. “So obviously the refs looked at it, I think, and we knew it was a legal play, good play, so we weren’t really worried about that.
“I told Marcus, ‘Don’t worry about that, let me handle all that.’ They had some words, and our guys have the freedom to do that. If a coach is going to talk to them, they are grown men. They can talk back. And so not really worried about that, but to his credit, he kept his composure. Obviously put up 20 and 8 and played through it. So bottom line, don’t need to get back and forth with a coach, but if you want to say your piece, I’m all for it.”
The Celtics had a minor scare in the third – the same stretch where they lost hold against Dallas on Sunday – when Jordan Poole’s 19-point quarter cut what had been a 24-point Celtics lead down to 10, and then as close as nine (83-74) in the third.
But Payton Pritchard, in the midst of scoring eight straight Celtics points, answered with his first of two 3-pointers in a minute span. His second triggered a 9-0 burst that put away the game.
And it was here, too, on offense, that Smart kept the pace under control with an eight-assist game. Asked if he felt like saying “I told you so” to those who don’t believe he’s a pure point guard, Smart had another simple answer.
“Nah, there’s no need to. I’ll just continue to let my game do the talking for itself,” he said. “My game is telling everybody I told you so, so I don’t need to say anything. It’s part of it. It took me eight years to get it. I waited my turn and now I’m just trying to do everything I can to take full advantage of that opportunity.”
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