Smart's frustration after Celtics win ‘a mix of everything'

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Marcus Smart and the Boston Celtics escaped Miami with a 112-104 win, doing so without Al Horford. 

But you would have thought the Celtics got drilled by 30 by Smart’s body language after the game. 

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He was visibly upset and distraught following the victory, a game in which he found himself getting the big-man-can’t-shoot-free-throw treatment in the fourth quarter. 

During one of Miami’s Hack-A-Smart fouls in the fourth quarter, Goran Dragic wrapped him up – apparently a little too long for Smart’s liking. 

So Smart pushed him back and got hit with a tech. 

Following the win, it was clear that Smart was still frustrated and to some degree flustered by what transpired in the game’s final minutes of play. 

“I’m just looking around like, ‘What am I doing? I’m not saying anything to the officials,’ ” Smart told CSN’s Abby Chin after the game. “I’m not making free throws and I usually make them. It’s just a mix of everything.”

Despite being hit with the tech and making just 5-of-9 free throws in the fourth, Smart made his usual assortment of clutch plays defensively which positioned the Celtics to close out the always-hard charging Heat. 

“With a crowd like this, you have to come out everyday and you have to be ready to compete,” Smart said. “If you don’t, they’ll sweep you out of here.”

As frustrated as Smart appeared after the game, there were a few Heat players who were noticeably bothered during various stretches during the game by Smart. 

Getting under the skin of opponents is something Smart has done through his still-young NBA career. 

“I just play my game,” said Smart who was one of six double-figure scorers with 12 points on 3-for-8 shooting from the field. “I can’t control how they feel or what’s going on with their side. I just control what I do.”

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