Marcus Smart Rips J.R. Smith Over ‘Dirty Play’ That Sparked A Stadium-Wide ‘F*ck You J.R.’ Chant

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“They’re being tougher than we are. They’re being physical. They’re goonin’ the game up.” Those were Cavs coach Tyronn Lue’s words after the Celtics’ 107-94 victory to put his squad in a 0-2 hole. And he’s right. The Celtics are playing energized, selfless basketball (especially at home where they’re 9-0 in the playoffs) and the Cavs’ cardboard cutout supporting cast appears to be timidly waiting for LeBron to drag them to the finish line. I mean, look at this backcourt comparison.

Frustrations boiled over during the fourth quarter last night as the game was slipping away from the Cavaliers. J.R. Smith, who had 0 points on 0-7 shooting after a 4 point game 1, shoved a defenseless Al Horford in the back on a layup attempt. Marcus Smart got all up in Smith’s face and the Celtics crowd piled on with some collective swear words for J.R. after the incident.

After the game, Marcus Smart discussed the dirty play.

“That’s a dirty shot,” Smart said of Smith’s play after the game. “You just can’t allow that to keep happening. It’s not the first time J.R. has done some dirty stuff, especially playing against us. He’s known for it, especially playing against us. We know that. It’s like a bully; you keep letting a bully pick on you, he’s going to keep picking on you until you stand up.”

Game 3 is this Saturday at 8:30 pm EST. God, I love playoff basketball.

 

 

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Matt’s love of writing was born during a sixth grade assembly when it was announced that his essay titled “Why Drugs Are Bad” had taken first prize in D.A.R.E.’s grade-wide contest. The anti-drug people gave him a $50 savings bond for his brave contribution to crime-fighting, and upon the bond’s maturity 10 years later, he used it to buy his very first bag of marijuana.