Marcus Smart struggles offensively in return to lineup in Celtics’ Game 3 loss
Smart missed Game 2 due to a right thigh contusion.
The Celtics got back their Defensive Player of the Year for Game 3 in their second-round series against the Bucks. But it wasn’t enough, with the Celtics falling 103-101 on Saturday.
Marcus Smart started and played without any minute restrictions in Game 3 after missing Game 2 due to a right thigh contusion injury. Smart didn’t have his best performance on offense, shooting just 1-of-8 from the field to score nine points with two assists.
Despite that, Smart appeared like he was going to have a chance to tie the game. With the Celtics down three in the final seconds of the game, Smart appeared to be going up for a 3-point shot when he was fouled by Bucks guard Jrue Holiday. However, the refs said Smart was attempting a swipe-through, not a shot. That meant Smart would only get two free throws instead of three with 4.6 seconds left.
“We need three with 4.6 seconds left,” Smart said of the play after the game. “They know we need three and they are going to foul. It’s not like he got me and it was down low. I was already in my shooting motion. I thought it was three free throws and they said it wasn’t.”
Smart made the first free throw to cut the Bucks’ lead to two. Smart and the Celtics made the decision to miss the second free throw on purpose so they could try to tie the game. Smart perfectly executed the miss, getting the rebound on the shot. But his putback didn’t go in, as well as Robert Williams’s. Al Horford had a pair of putback chances, too. His second try went in, but the ball was still in his hand at the buzzer.
Smart played just 29 minutes in the game, partly because he got into foul trouble early in the first quarter. He still wondered after the game why he didn’t get three free throws on one of the final plays.
“They didn’t give me any explanation,” Smart said. “I went to ask and they looked at me funny and went to the free-throw line.”
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