Marcus Smart Records Career-Performance As Celtics Win Game Two
Marcus Smart dropped a playoff career-high performane on Thursday night as the Boston Celtics rolled to an easy 127-102 win over the Miami Heat in game two of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
The series is now tied 1-1.
After missing game one of the ECF with an ankle sprain, the former Oklahoma State star, and current NBA Defensive Player of the Year, returned to action in game two and had a historic night.
Smart recorded 24 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds, three steals to only one turnover as he became just the second player in NBA history to record a stat line like that in the playoffs, joining Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas (Det).
He went 8-of-22 from the floor in 40 minutes, including shooting a game-high 5-of-12 from beyond the 3-point line.
According to the Celtics NBA website, because of Smart’s performance, Boston became just the 20th team in NBA history to shoot 50% from the field, 50% from 3-point range and 90% from the free throw line.
“For me today, it was just come out and be as aggressive as you can and not let the same mistake happen,” Smart said of his performance after the game. “We're playing against a really, really, really, really good Miami team, and when you make mistakes, they make you pay for it. We've got to limit those mistakes. That was my mindset coming in, get Jayson (Tatum) and Jaylen (Brown) the ball, Al (Horford), get them their shots open, and take what the defense gives you.”
Smart and Celtics return home to Boston for game three this Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. CT on ABC.