Boston Celtics reserve guard Marcus Smart had an incredible night off the bench despite a disappointing 123-116 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday. So incredible in fact, that it was a first of its kind in NBA history.
Smart recorded 18 points, seven assists, six steals, five made three-pointers, and two blocked shots, giving head coach Brad Stevens a goodies galore of an outing in his 33 minutes on the floor.
Excluding the points scored, there had never been a player to record said numbers in a game in NBA history, according to Sean Grande of Spike Sports.
Smart beats the buzzer! C's cut into ATL's lead heading into the fourth. pic.twitter.com/rmQFVLDkE6
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 7, 2017
Surprisingly enough, Smart had a plus-minus rating of zero despite shooting 6-of-11 from the floor, 5-of-9 from three, and 1-of-2 from the line. His 18 points were more than the entire bench combined (16 points), and his defensive plays kept the Celtics in the game against a hot-shooting Hawks team.
Smart's next season will be a team option — if the organization chooses not to resign him, there will be plenty of teams licking their chops, waiting to get a crack at the versatile guard.