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Marcus Smart Game-Saving Block Helps Celtics to Eastern Conference Finals

NBA First-Team All-Defensive player Marcus Smart's game-saving block, among other things, helped the Boston Celtics past the Toronto Raptors and into the Eastern Conference Finals

Zach Lancaster

© Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Eastern Conference semifinals series between the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors came down to the wire Friday night in one of the best scenarios in all of sports: a game 7.

Earlier this week, former Cowboy standout Marcus Smart was named NBA first-team All-Defense for the second-straight season and his first-team All-Defensive stop with just under a minute left in the fourth quarter is one of the main reasons the Celtics are headed back to the Eastern Conference Finals.

This play might be the crown jewel of Smart’s career highlight reel of winning plays, and that’s saying something. He first picked up Powell while in a full backpedal in transition. As Powell drove toward his right side, Smart, while backpedaling, opened his hips in that direction and continued to trail Powell at a close distance. Powell then attempted to sneak a right-handed layup off the glass but Smart leaped into the air and blocked it off the backboard to preserve Boston’s lead.-nba.com/celtics

This quote from Smart on his performance is one of the best I've heard in quite sometime.

“I bet on myself 110% of the time, and I’m first team All-Defense for a reason, and I believe in that wholeheartedly,” Smart said after the game. “My teammates believe in me and in a game like that, at a time like that, they knew, and I knew at the same time that it was going to be hard. I thought I was going to come up with the block and I did.”

Along with his defensive efforts, that included the one block and three steals, Smart was also good on the offensive end. He put up 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the floor, as well as dishing out six assists.

He even sent out of tweet after the game taking a jab at the defending NBA champs.

Smart will start game one of the Eastern Conference Finals against the surging Miami Heat on Tuesday, Sept. 15. and will most likely be tasked with guard Jimmy Butler. Tipoff time has yet to be announced.

This will be the first time the Celtics have made the ECF since the 2017-18 season as they'll be trying to get back to the NBA Finals for the first time since they lost a close series, fell 83-79 in Game 7 in Los Angeles, against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in the 2009-10 season.

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Zach Lancaster
ZACH LANCASTER

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