Marcus Smart returned to the Celtics’ lineup Thursday night in Brooklyn and wasted no time getting back into the swing of things.
In his first game back since tearing his left calf muscle on Jan. 30, the veteran point guard came off the bench and poured in 19 points while shooting 4-of-6 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line, all in less than 21 minutes of action.
“It felt good to be back out there with those guys,” Smart reflected late Thursday night. “Obviously first game back, a little jitters. But it’s like riding a bike. I just come back and do what I do: try to help my team win games.”
Though despite Smart’s outstanding performance, the Celtics weren’t able to pull out a win over a thriving Brooklyn club. Both teams battled back and forth down to the wire before the Nets caught fire, coming away with a 121-109 victory for their 11th win in their last 12 tries.
“We were right there,” Smart said. “We played a really good team. And we’ve got some things we need to clean up, but it was very promising. I’m proud of the way we played. I’m proud of the effort. And the shots fell for them tonight, shots fell for us here and there. Just gotta finish the game out, but like I said, I’m proud of the way we played tonight.”
Smart’s teammates were proud as well, specifically in regard to the way he played in his comeback game.
“I’m happy for him,” said Jayson Tatum, who erupted for a team-high 31 points. “Happy to see him back and healthy. Obviously, we're a better team when everyone's there and healthy, and his presence on both ends is no secret. I was happy to have him back and just happy to see him back out there, doing what he loves to do.”
And what he loves to do more than anything is to be a disruptor on the defensive end. Now, this wasn’t one of Boston’s shining defensive performances, as it allowed over 120 points, including 40 from Kyrie Irving. But there was no denying Smart’s impact on that side of the ball during his limited time on the court.
“He's our defensive leader,” said Daniel Theis, who tallied 17 points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals. “You saw it today, he takes matchups personally. Like he wanted to get a stop, like when he guarded Kyrie, he wanted to guard him. He wanted to make it tough for him, make him miss a shot, and just be there and lead the way for our whole team. If he needs to run our defense, he is pulling everybody with him. And that's what we need from him on the defensive end.”
The Celtics will be able to get more out of him on that end as time goes on and his minutes restriction lightens. As coach Brad Stevens noted, it’s tough being in Smart’s position right now playing five-minute stints, even though he was able to make the most of his opportunities Thursday night.
“There’s only so many ways to manage that, to have any rhythm at all,” Stevens said. “You want him to be able to end the game and use his versatility defensively. I know he’ll be excited when that 20-minute deal is over. But I thought he looked good, I thought he did a lot of good things, and he’ll only get better as he gets more used to game action.”
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