The Boston Celtics have raced out to the best start in the NBA, so it was somewhat surprising to see them in the midst of a dogfight with the depleted Golden State Warriors on Friday night.
Trailing by one with about 90 seconds to play, the Celtics had the chance to grab a crucial possession with a jump ball at center court. But Celtics guard Marcus Smart was one step ahead of the Warriors, telling Jayson Tatum to jump the lane on the tip (via John Karalis of MassLive.com):
“Smart told me the whole time, like, ‘Yeah, they’re going to tip it back. Shoot the lane,’” Tatum said after the game, but then adding he was skeptical about it. “I’m like, ‘No.’ He’s like, ‘Listen to me. Listen to me.’ I’m like, ‘All right, yo.’ And I listened to him, and it worked.”
Before facing the Kings, Smart told MassLive his reaction to being doubted.
“I was like just listen to me. Shut up. I don’t want to hear none of that. Just go. I’ll take the blame for it. Whatever, just go for it,” Smart said. “I’m glad he did. That was big for us. That was pretty much the turnaround for us to get us going to finish the game.”
Warriors center Willie Cauley-Stein won the tip, but Tatum did jump into the direction of the ball, stealing the tip and bringing it in for a dunk to put the Celtics ahead.
Boston would go on to win the game, giving them 10 straight wins since losing the season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers.
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