Marcus Smart was ejected in the Boston Celtics' Wednesday night loss to the Philadelphia 76ers after he angrily shoved the Sixers' star center, Joel Embiid, in the back.

On Friday, Smart addressed the incident during the team's media availability in Charlotte — and he wasn't exactly apologetic.

"I thought it was just really obvious that it was an illegal screen that should’ve been called and I thought it should’ve been cleaned up," Smart told reporters. "You know, if you called that screen or you make the right call, you just don’t let an offensive player do what he wanted. Allow the defender to protect himself and protect his space as well. None of that ever happened.

"So, with the illegal elbow, I don’t know if you guys watched this but you can even see Joel lean in with the elbow. You can see Joel walk off like he didn’t even do anything. I don’t know what the call was. So, after that, I waited for the call, it didn’t happen, and I just got up and pushed him."

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The Celtics were up 11 when Smart exited the game, but they ultimately ended up losing by three points. Brad Stevens expressed his disappointment in Smart's decision after the game, specifically citing Aron Baynes' injury as part of the reason that the team really needed Smart on the floor.

Smart ended up being issued a $50,000 fine from the NBA.

Despite the end result of everything, Smart said that he wouldn't change anything about what he did.

"I’ll do it over again. I’m going to protect myself at all times, especially if I don’t feel like I’m being protected out there like everybody else is. If you don’t want to clean it up, I’ll clean it up myself."

Smart will return to the Celtics' lineup on Saturday against the Hornets. He'll help out the team, as they have already declared three rotation players out for the game in Charlotte.

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Where were you for Marcus Smart's "flop (seen) 'round the world"? Evan Turner was on the same court -- and ready to throw hands.

Monday marks the three-year anniversary of Game 3 of the Boston Celtics' 2016 first-round matchup with the Atlanta Hawks, which featured this incredible display of embellishment from Smart:

#OTD in 2016, Marcus Smart went FLYING. 🤣😂#Shaqtin pic.twitter.com/7Q8Y3Cd7r2

— Shaqtin' a Fool (@shaqtin) April 22, 2019

The Celtics guard -- who's been known to flop from time to time -- didn't even get the foul call after taking flight on Kyle Korver's hip check and later got hit with a $5,000 fine.

But his former C's teammate, Portland Trail Blazers swingman Evan Turner, was ready to come to Smart's defense if any sparks flew.

I still remember being ready to fight over this lol https://t.co/5i3xjm7QC8

— Evan Turner (@thekidet) April 22, 2019

True teammates have each other's backs, no matter how hard they flop.

The Celtics went on to lose that series to Al Horford's Hawks, but they've come a long way since then, picking up their first series sweep since 2011 by dispatching the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

• FORSBERG: Celtics declare they're a changed team

As for Smart: He'll likely be out for Boston's second-round series as he recovers from a painful oblique injury.

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Barring the greatest upset in NBA history, the Boston Celtics will get the chance to catch up with some old friends in the second round.

The Milwaukee Bucks, up 3-0 on the Detroit Pistons in their first-round series, need one more win to set up a date with the Celtics, who ousted them last season in a hotly-contested first-round series.

And if you ask Terry Rozier, this year's rematch will be just as hotly-contested.

"We're just gonna make it tough (for them)," Rozier said Monday morning during an appearance on ESPN's "Get Up." "We'll try to be the harder-playing team, and we're looking forward to that matchup.

"We're looking to bring some excitement to this game -- and some trash talking. A little fun."

• FORSBERG: Surging C's declare they're a changed team

Rozier, if you'll recall, was in the thick of last year's trash talk thanks to his beef with Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe. Rozier happily fanned the flames of his back-and-forth with Bledsoe, showing up to games in an old Drew Bledsoe Patriots jersey to troll the Bucks point guard.

Rozier likely won't play as big a role on the court this series; he averaged 17.6 points per game in last year's series while filling in for starting point guard Kyrie Irving but has taken a backseat to Irving in the 2019 playoffs. But if Rozier has to play the role of instigator again, he'll happily oblige.

"As you all know, it's part of the game. So, it's going to happen," Rozier said of the jawing that goes on during playoff games. "I feel like if you love basketball, you love the competitive spirit of it, you're going to talk a little trash, you're going to have a little fun.

"... Nobody wants to lose. We definitely don't want to lose. So, whatever it takes next round."

The Celtics still have to wait for Milwaukee to dispatch Detroit -- Game 4 is Monday night -- so until then, please enjoy the best of the Rozier-Bledsoe beef:

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