With their backs against the wall, the Boston Celtics managed to scrape out their first win of this year's Eastern Conference Finals as they bested the Miami Heat on Tuesday night by a final score of 116-99. Despite coming into the second half trailing by six points, the C's put on a two-way clinic during the third period that, ultimately, gave them a lead they never relinquished and it appears Marcus Smart was a driving force in their stellar surge.
Outside of his on-court contributions, the veteran guard has always proven to be a rather vocal teammate who's not afraid to speak his mind. During a timeout in the second half, Smart was seen huddling his teammates together on the sidelines and, during his post-game media session, he shed light on what he said to motivate the club.
“Just telling them to keep going. This is a pivotal point for us right now. We got to turn it up a little bit more. If you're tired come out the game, get somebody else in there that's fresh and that can keep it going. We gotta continue to go and do whatever it takes to win this game tonight,” Marcus Smart said.
During the final two periods of action, the Celtics went on to post 66 points on 56.8% shooting from the field and 45.0% shooting from deep while holding the Heat to just 43 points on a putrid 35.0% shooting from the floor and 18.8% shooting from distance.
Marcus Smart would go on to finish his night with 11 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals and registered a plus-minus rating of +15.
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