Celtics Notes: Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder Have Heated On-Court Exchange (Video)

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Jan 10, 2016

Want to see a microcosm of the Boston Celtics’ past five days?

Having already blown a 21-point lead, the Celtics trailed the Memphis Grizzlies by two points Sunday with 40 seconds remaining when former Celtic Jeff Green rejected Marcus Smart’s layup attempt. Frustrated by what he thought was a no-call, Smart committed a not-so-smart foul on Mario Chalmers seconds later, and the Grizzlies guard knocked down both free throws to stretch the lead to four.

https://vine.co/v/iMAwQqgeJLZ

Jae Crowder wasn’t pleased with Smart’s decision-making and let the second-year guard know it, but Smart didn’t take the criticism too kindly:

https://vine.co/v/iMA2p7tdwV9

It’s rare to see two teammates get this heated on the court, but the Celtics, who suffered their fifth loss in six games, clearly have reached a boiling point. Smart simmered down enough to address the incident after the game.

“It’s just two teammates talking about it,” Smart said in a postgame interview aired on CSN New England. “He’s just telling me, ‘We didn’t need to foul there.’ Just heat of the moment, two players, competitors going at it. Both mad at each other. I’m mad at myself, he’s mad at me because I made the play. Me and Jae are good. That’s supposed to happen. I made a bad play.”

“Marcus apologized right when he got in here for that play,” point guard Isaiah Thomas said, via MassLive’s Jay King. “We’re a family, man. We’re going to stick together. We’re going to keep fighting. But we somehow have to learn from these mistakes that we’re making.”

Click for the Celtics-Grizzlies Wrap >>

Let’s hit a few other notes from Celtics-Grizzlies:

— The NBA news that dominated the day — and directly affects the Celtics — is that the Brooklyn Nets “reassigned” general manager Billy King and fired head coach Lionel Hollins. Boston owns Brooklyn’s first-round pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, so it will be interesting to monitor whether the Nets continue their downward spiral or somehow manage to turn things around under new leadership.

— Celtics head coach Brad Stevens isn’t caught up in all that talk, though. He apparently reached out to Hollins shortly after the news broke.

— Stevens gave a powerful response when asked about his decision to leave the team Thursday to visit former Butler player Andrew Smith, who is battling cancer.

“It was not an easy decision, certainly but it was the right one,” Stevens said, via 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Celtics play-by-play announcer Sean Grande. “No question it was the right one. And I just think you make the right decision and you live with whatever you live with. But I’m just thankful (this team) understands the impact of a world outside of basketball. We’re fortunate to be doing what we’re doing. We use words like adversity, we use words like ‘toughness’ and ‘grit’ and ‘warrior’ but this is a game when it’s all said and done.

“But it’s a meaningful game because it impacts the way people feel. And I think that’s (when) you realize when you’re in Indy for the reason I was, that sports do matter and sports do bring out emotions. And the people that play them bring out emotions. The way Andrew has for the fans at Butler and in Indianapolis. Our guys should just enjoy getting a chance to compete and being representatives of the sport.”

Unfortunately, the outlook for Smith doesn’t look good.

— Jared Sullinger turned some heads Sunday by ripping his alma mater, Ohio State, after the Buckeyes lost by 25 points to Indiana.

— A promising development from down on the farm: Rookie forward Jordan Mickey is turning serious heads.

Thumbnail photo via Justin Ford/USA TODAY Sports Images

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