When the Boston Celtics lost Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Milwaukee Bucks, many felt Marcus Smart and his squad were dead in the water.

It was a brutal, devastating defeat for Boston as the Bucks won at TD Garden in front of the Celtics' own fans, rallying from being down 11 points in the fourth quarter to win by three. The loss put the Celtics down 3-2 in the series.

Any team losing like that would have had so much to talk about and so many emotions to manage in the locker room postgame.

But strangely enough, not for these Celtics:

“Everyone looked at each other and kind of gave each other a tap on the back and it was over,” described Marcus Smart to ESPN's Zach Lowe. “Onto the next one. We all knew. Just stay together. Stay together. We had each other's back. We knew Game 6 for us, there was gonna be hell to pay. And there was.”

Smart, in fact, did not go straight home that night. He went to the Celtics' practice facility, put up some jumpshots, and then sat in a cold tub afterward. He felt he let the team down, and he vowed to be much better:

“I got myself right, got myself together,” Smart said. “It was brutal. I felt like I let my teammates down.”

The next day, Smart and the Celtics pored over film, holding each other accountable and being very transparent. They won Game 6 for the right to play Game 7 at home. They won that game, too, redeeming themselves in front of their fans.

Now, the Celtics find themselves in a similar spot, but with much bigger stakes. Down 3-2 in the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors, Marcus Smart and the Celtics need to muster that same unrelenting magic to win Game 6.

And even though Game 7 won't be at home this time around, maybe, just maybe, Smart and his teammates can get things right one last time this season.