"Stop talking the whole f***ing game" - Celtics' Marcus Smart's frustrations spilled over on the court
In a crucial Game 3 against Miami, Celtics' Marcus Smart got heated in a brief altercation with the Heat's Caleb Martin. The Celtics were down 18 points with 9:58 left in the fourth quarter.
During the altercation, Smart exchanged words with the Heat as his frustrations mirrored what the team was going through.
“We beat y’all last year," Smart said. "We good. Stop talking the whole f***ing game.”
Boston had a lot of edge heading into this third-round matchup against the Heat. They had homecourt advantage throughout the whole series and even had the more talented roster. However, due to a mismatch in the coaching department and mental lapses piling on top of each other, the Celtics are down 3-0.
In their biggest game of the season yet, the core trio of Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum were nowhere to be found. They combined for 34 points on 14-of-43 shooting, including 1-of-17 from 3-point range. To make their performances worse, they combined for eight turnovers as well.
The contest was evenly matched during the first quarter, as the two had a back-and-forth nature. Miami headed into the second quarter with an 8-point lead and ended up with a 15-point lead to close the first half. From then on, the ball game was all Miami, with the Celtics looking out of sorts.
The Miami Heat held Boston to just 39.8% shooting, including 26.2% from 3-point range, forcing them to make 15 turnovers. Meanwhile, for the Heat, they shot incredibly well on 56.8% shooting, including 54.3% shooting.
The Celtics failed to steal a game on the road to give them some life in this series, scoring 128-102. With their championship hopes in peril, Boston came up short of the eight-seeded Miami Heat.
Celtics' players on being down 3-0 to the Miami Heat
After the Game 3 loss, Al Horford and Jayson Tatum spoke to the media to address the loss and the team's mindset.
"As a player, I take responsibility because we didn't have what we needed to have," Horford said. "This is part of our journey and we are low, low...We're not out yet. It's 3-0. 0-189 or something like that? We're one of four teams. We're still kicking."
"As tough as tonight was, we just got to try to move on," Tatum said. "Prepare, get ready, film for tomorrow. Obviously, we're in a tough position but we have to have some pride and be better. Get a win on Tuesday. We'll figure out the rest from there."
Due to the importance and possible implications of Game 4, Boston has one last shot at getting a win in this series.
For more NBA News, CLICK HERE.