Marcus Smart learns tough lesson after missing buzzer-beater against Wolves

Despite a strong overal game, a 4th quarter gaff by Smart closed the window for a Celtics victory. AP/David Zalubowski

By Brian Robb @CelticsHub

February 23, 2016

2 minutes to read

If it weren’t for Marcus Smart, the Celtics probably would not have had a chance to steal a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

The second-year guard helped the visitors stay within striking distance of the hosts all night with his contributions (17 points, seven assists, four rebounds, four steals) on both ends of the floor.

Still, the 21-year-old learned a tough lesson during the game’s final possession, when he squandered chance for a better look at the basket in Boston’s 124-122 loss to Minnesota at the Target Center due to his tunnel vision.

After trailing by 10 points with 1:22 remaining, the Celtics were able to trim that deficit to a single point with five seconds left on the clock, thanks to a flurry of 3-point makes. Wolves guard Zach LaVine sunk one of two free throws to push the lead to two, giving the Celtics one shot in the game’s closing seconds to tie or win the contest.

With no timeouts left, Boston was forced to travel the length of the floor to get a shot off on the game’s final play. The Wolves double teamed speedster Isaiah Thomas on the inbounds, which made Jae Crowder opt to pass the ball in to Smart on the right side of the floor.

A gamble for a steal by LaVine opened up a 4-on-3 opportunity for Smart and his teammates as he raced up the court. More importantly, it allowed Thomas, one of the league’s fastest players, to streak down the left side of the floor unguarded.

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It only took two seconds for Smart to race up the court himself, reaching the Wolves 3-point line as Ricky Rubio waited for him. Instead of swinging the ball to an open Thomas, Smart opted to pull up for a contested 30-foot potential game-winner.

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The ball clanged off the front of the rim, sending Boston to its second loss in three games.

Despite his mistake, Smart’s teammates came to his defense after the game, acknowledging that the Celtics had far bigger issues in Monday’s loss than Smart’s late-game decision.

“We could have drove it to the rack since we were down two and tried to win it in overtime,’’ Evan Turner told reporters in Minnesota. “Einstein could have been like, ‘Isaiah was open’, you know what I’m saying? Smart had a great game the whole game. A centimeter further, you guys would have been saying he’s the greatest thing walking. That’s not what got us there. It was a lot of other things. And our competitive nature got us back in order to talk about the last play. But there’s a lot of things that occurred prior to that. So that last play obviously wasn’t the end-all, be-all.’’

“He made a lot of great effort plays,’’ Avery Bradley said of Smart’s performance. “I think a lot of people don’t see that or it’s not the fancy play, but I appreciate how hard he plays.’’

Smart and his teammates will have a couple days to shake off the disappointing loss before starting a five-game homestand at the TD Garden on Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks.