Marcus Smart Explains Why He Briefly Left the Floor vs. Lakers

Marcus Smart said he was feeling "a little under the weather" during the Celtics' win over the Lakers.

The league-leading Celtics picked up an impressive win on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, coming from behind on the second night of a back-to-back to beat the Lakers in overtime. The most important play of the night may have been one Marcus Smart made off the court, though. 

In the closing seconds of overtime, as the Celtics were trying to secure the victory, Smart was subbed out of the game and disappeared through the tunnel. Was he injured? Would the Celtics be forced to try to stop the Lakers on a key possession without their defensive player? No, Smart returned shortly thereafter and the Celtics closed out the game without incident. 

So where did Smart go? As he told reporters after the game, he needed to excuse himself briefly to go vomit. 

“I’m a little under the weather. I actually had to vomit,” Smart said. “I didn’t want to ruin the floor at Crypto[.com Arena]. It’s a lot of traveling. We’re playing these games—back-to-back, day between. Your body takes a toll. And it’s around that time—flu, it’s December, it’s cold. So, for us, we’re just trying to do everything we can to stay as healthy as we can. Tonight I’m a little under the weather but we pushed it through and that’s all you can ask for.”

Marcus Smart talks about fighting off not feeling well against the Lakers, and almost ruining the https://t.co/BKqQikLzWw Arena floor 🤮 pic.twitter.com/GKvl4EUE57

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 14, 2022

Vomit on the floor at Crypto.com Arena would have been appropriate, given how that industry is trending. 

Smart didn’t play like he was under the weather. He had 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting and made a clutch three in the final minute of regulation that cut the Lakers’ lead to two. 

The win, which brought the Celtics’ record to 22–7, wrapped up a six-game Boston road trip that featured four games on the West Coast. Smart will have some time to get his stomach right before the Celtics return home for a game on Friday against the Magic.