Emotions spilled over in the locker room last week after the Boston Celtics' Game 2 loss to the Miami Heat.
Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown reportedly were at the center of a heated exchange that involved the former holding his teammates' feet to the fire in wake of another blown lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
In that moment, the Celtics could have rolled over, mailing it in for the remainder of the best-of-seven series. Instead, they used the tense situation -- which even prompted head coach Brad Stevens to call a late-night meeting with the team's leaders -- as a learning experience.
"We learned how to really understand each other through the B.S., I guess you could call it, or the distraction," Smart told NBC Sports' Abby Chin. "It's not gonna be perfect. We're not always going to agree on everything. But it's OK to have that. We've learned to really separate bad intentions from good intentions. And everybody on this team has really great intentions for the team.
"So, being able to play with these guys and go through the adversity that we're going through is ultimately going to help us as a team and as individuals get better."
The Celtics responded admirably Saturday night in Game 3, dousing the Heat 117-106 to trim Boston's series deficit in half. Smart, Brown, Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker each scored at least 20 points.
Miami actually threatened to come back yet again in Game 3, but Boston extinguished the flames accordingly. It's entirely possible the locker room confrontation that occurred after Game 2 only brought the Celtics closer together, even strengthening the bond that exists between Smart and Brown.
"That's my brother. I'd do anything for Jaylen. I'd go to war with Jaylen 100 times out of 100. That's the relationship we’ve built," Smart told Chin. "Me and Jaylen are similar in a multitude of ways. We both are competitive guys. We both are strong-minded guys. We both believe in what we believe in and we’re not gonna back down from nobody."
The Celtics and Heat return to the hardwood inside the Orlando bubble for Game 4 on Wednesday night.
Boston's inspired effort in Game 3 won't mean much if it can't follow up with another strong showing while down 2-1 in the series, but it's fair to say the Celtics don't appear willing to succumb to the Heat just yet.
