Marcus Smart has been giving it all for the Boston Celtics inside the bubble, and his head coach Brad Stevens has certainly taken notice.

With Gordon Hayward again out of the lineup due to an ankle injury, the Celtics had to insert Smart to the starting line-up for the second straight game.

The move once again paid dividends, as Smart's defensive tenacity powered Boston to a 102-94 win in Game 3 on Friday.

“He just made a lot of winning plays. … Guy is all about one thing: winning, and he was great again tonight,” Brad Stevens described Smart post-game, via Chris Forsberg.

With the game up for grabs in the closing minutes of the fourth, Smart displayed just how vital he is to Boston's winning system. The Celtics were down two with under two minutes left in regulation when Enes Kanter and Jayson Tatum double-teamed Joel Embiid and forced him to give up the rock.

The Sixers All-Star was forced to kick the ball out, as Smart beautifully anticipated the play and snatched the ball mid-air. The former OSU-star even managed to throw an outlet pass to Jaylen Brown before falling down. This led to a fastbreak opportunity for the 6-foot-6 winger, who finished off the play with a gorgeous and-one.

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Marcus Smart went on to proclaim himself as the best defender in the league following his Game 3 performance. Judging by his magnificent resume throughout the entire 2019-20 campaign, Smart is definitely one of the best wing stoppers in basketball today.