For three quarters, Marcus Smart was the best player on the floor for the Celtics on Tuesday night. It wasn’t an impressive shooting night in classic Smart form (4-of-12 from 3-point range) but the normally savvy guard was contributing across the box score with a team-high nine assists, two steals and two blocks to go along with 12 points and 5 rebounds.
The Nets had only managed to muster 67 points on 35 percent shooting from the field with their offensively challenged lineup during the opening 36 minutes thanks in large part to Smart. Caris LeVert had a modest 14 points in 18 minutes.
Everything seemed to be going to plan for Boston despite the fact Jayson Tatum (illness) and Gordon Hayward (bruised knee) weren’t available in the second half. With Kemba Walker’s minutes limit also in place in his first game back from his knee injection, a blowout win was a welcome possibility and that’s where this game was headed after the Celtics led by 17 points at the start of the fourth quarter.
To say that things fell apart late for Boston from there may be the understatement of the season. The hosts surrendered a 51-point fourth quarter, the second-most allowed in franchise history in the overtime defeat. It was the first time a team scored 50 points in a quarter all season in the NBA. Amazingly, Caris LeVert scored 37 points in the fourth quarter and overtime on his way to 51 overall in the 129-120 victory, single-handedly outscoring the entire Celtics roster in those final 17 minutes by himself.
“We didn’t have any defensive intensity,” Brad Stevens said of the late collapse “I should have subbed a couple of guys out that normally play, and I just kept them in. We had the right intensity for most of the game and we just let our foot off the gas. But we got four stops in the fourth quarter.”
For as bad as things went in the fourth quarter, the Celtics were seemingly still in control with as few as four minutes remaining in regulation. They still led by 13 at that point following a Jaylen Brown layup before the Nets erupted for 27 points in the final 4:04 of regulation. So what exactly happened in that debacle, particularly on the defensive end to open the door for the epic collapse? There is plenty of blame to be handed out, but the biggest piece of the pie goes to Smart —particularly in the final minute of this one.
Smart was the primary defender on LeVert for the majority of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and while plenty of those points came against Kemba Walker and Rob Williams following switches (both were bad defensively in the final four minutes), Smart looked far from an All-Defensive player in this span. In fact, he was a straight up liability at times in the final two minutes. Let’s walk through a couple of key sequences late.
Celtics lead 109-103 with 2:04 remaining: Smart tries to play physical with LeVert but gets beaten backdoor. Rob Williams is late with the weakside help, allowing a wide-open dunk for LeVert on a nine-second possession for the Nets.
Celtics lead 116-112 with 25.4 seconds remaining: The Nets grab a rebound off a Brown missed 3 and get the ball to LaVert on the perimeter. Smart is playing very tight on LeVert above the 3-point line and gets blown by. Smart immediately gives the foul despite having some help behind him in the paint just six seconds into the possession. With Boston in the penalty, LeVert heads to the line for two free throws with the clock stopped, the worst thing you want to do in a two-possession game as a defender.
Celtics lead 118-113 with 10.4 seconds remaining: Smart is again matched up with LeVert off an inbounds play. He gets blown up off the dribble again, forcing help from Daniel Theis. This opens up a quick lob from LaVert to DeAndre Jordan, giving the Nets a quick two points on a three-second possession. Letting the Nets score two points there isn’t bad but allowing them to do without burning any time at all opened the door for a miracle comeback. Smart didn’t learn his lesson from the prior possession here and it cost the Celtics.
Celtics lead 118-115 with 1.3 seconds remaining: This was the most inexcusable one. After losing a jump ball to Brooklyn, the Celtics subbed in Rob Williams into the game to help defend the 3-point line. The plan appeared to work to perfection as the Nets were forced to inbound the ball for a desperation heave from LeVert with Theis contesting well at the 3-point line.
“I mean, he wasn’t going to get a shot up, I don’t think,” Stevens said. “If he was going to get a shot up, I mean, he might have made it, but it was going to be almost impossible to make it, I think. So we were trying to just be big and be at the 3-point line, put our two biggest guys, our longest guys right there and try to take it away.”
Despite this plan, Smart managed to ruin the proper execution with a completely unnecessary reach on LeVert as time expired. With 1.3 seconds left, there was no question that the refs were going to assume that any movement from LeVert would be a shot attempt so he was granted three free throws for would have been a blocked shot or bad miss had he even gotten it off.
Marcus Smart with a pointless foul on LeVert to send this to OT... pic.twitter.com/AIBNeb3jQe
— Tony Clements (@TonyClementsTC) March 4, 2020
Marcus Smart had to be separated from the refs ?
(via @NBCSCeltics)pic.twitter.com/crmuysRY7A
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 4, 2020