Marcus Smart didn’t play for the Washington Wizards when they visited the Boston Celtics on Sunday, but he was involved in a brief verbal altercation with a fan.
Smart was sitting on the Wizards bench when a fan appeared to have said something to get the guard’s attention. The two exchanged words in a shouting match as Smart was visibly upset and had to be restrained by his teammates. The fan was escorted out of the game by TD Garden security shortly afterwards.
“[The fan] just crossed the line and we all know I don’t do line crossing,” Smart said of the exchange after a 124-90 Wizards loss. “That was it. We move on. Unfortunate, you never wanna see that, especially for a guy who’s coming back, and who’s giving the city everything he has, but it is what it is. Take the spirit, we’ll take it. Onto the next one.”
It looked like Smart continued to argue with the fan before he was led out of the stands but the veteran guard downplayed the exchange.
“Pointing him out to security,” Smart said. “Just trying to get him out before it escalated more than what it was. But that’s over with, it’s done with. On to the next one.”
Most Boston fans in attendance showed Smart plenty of love during the Celtics victory despite the altercation. Smart was a healthy DNP-CD in the loss, a decision that did not sit well with Boston fans who chanted “We want Marcus” throughout the fourth quarter of the Celtics win.
“Find out on the fly,” Smart said of him sitting out the game. “You always want to play, but at the same time, it was good to just take all the love in and not have to be out there focused on the game, too. So it was a little mix between both.”
The Wizards acquired Smart at the trade deadline in a three-team deal from Memphis. He is averaging 9.3 points and 2.5 assists per game during 14 appearance and earned high praise from his coach Brian Keefe before the win.
“He’s been terrific,” Keefe said. “Obviously, thrilled to have him on our team, as you guys know here in this town. What he meant to the city of Boston. Tremendous leader, tremendous player, just the knowledge that he has in the game, the amount of experience he’s had built to pass on to our guys. He’s been terrific.”
Smart has one year remaining on his deal in Washington but is making the best out of mentoring the team’s young roster after the surprise deal.
“They’re calling me unc and things like that. I ain’t ready for that,” Smart said of playing with the rebuilding Wizards. “But it’s great. It’s a great group of young guys here, and the thing that I love about them is they’re ready to learn and they’re willing to learn. They’re constantly asking me questions, constantly asking me to demonstrate things, and that’s what you ask for. As a competitor, as a player yourself, when guys come up to you, that’s a great feeling. It allows you to see that what you’re doing and the impact that you’ve made hasn’t gone unnoticed, and keep doing it. So I was very excited.”
