Marcus Smart served a one-game suspension for punching San Antonio Spurs center Matt Bonner in the groin last Friday. But Bonner still is left wondering what prompted the Boston Celtics rookie to lash out at him in the first place.
“I was just shocked when it happened,” Bonner said Monday on WKXL radio in his native Concord, N.H., via The Boston Globe. “Like I said, I’d never played against him in my entire life, and it was the first play I’d been in that game, so it was just completely by surprise.
“I’m not sure what his motivation was, or his reason for doing what he did.”
Could it have been a “freak accident,” as Smart claimed? Not likely, Bonner said.
“It’s right there on the film,” the Spurs big said. “It’s clear as day what happened.”
The NBA agreed. After being ejected from Friday’s game, Smart was forced to sit out Sunday’s matchup with the Detroit Pistons, which the Celtics went on to lose 105-97 in overtime.
Smart, speaking with reporters for the first time since the ban was handed down, admitted Monday that he can see where Bonner is coming from.
[tweet https://twitter.com/ByJayKing/status/580139345711112193 align=’center’]
Boston guard Evan Turner said after Sunday’s game Smart “owes (his teammates) one” once the rookie point guard returns to the starting lineup Monday night in Brooklyn. Bonner, meanwhile, said he’s left the incident in the past.
“I’m over it,” he said. “I’m going to move on.”
Click the player below to hear Bonner’s full interview.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/197333079″ params=”color=ff5500″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
