Marcus Smart cleared to play for Celtics in Game 4 vs. Hawks
Smart suffered a lower back contusion in the Celtics' Game 3 loss.
The Celtics’ streak of good health will remain intact when their first-round playoff series against the Hawks continues on Sunday.
Marcus Smart will play in Game 4 after suffering a lower back contusion in Game 3, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters ahead of Sunday’s game.
The Celtics’ starting point guard suffered the injury late in Friday’s loss. When Smart attempted to go up for a rebound in the final minutes of the game, he landed hard on his lower back.
Smart was down on the court and grimaced for a moment before getting back up to his feet to play the remainder of the game.
Even though he finished Game 3, Smart told reporters Saturday that he wasn’t sure he would play on Sunday.
“It’s better than I expected it to be, to be honest,” Smart said of his lower back, adding that “I’m OK relatively speaking.”
Celtics star Jayson Tatum didn’t seem too concerned though about the stinger Smart took in Game 3.
“Get your [expletive] up,” Tatum told reporters Sunday on what he told Smart at that moment in Game 3.
Smart’s performed well on both ends for the Celtics through the first three games of the series. He’s averaging 16.3 points and five rebounds per game and also has team highs in assists (seven per game) and steals (three per game).
Game 3 was Smart’s strongest game yet in the series. He scored 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field and 5-of-12 shooting from deep to go along with eight assists and three steals. He also made a pair of buckets in the final minutes to keep the Celtics within a possession of the Hawks after he was initially on the bench in favor of Malcolm Brogdon.
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