Minnesota’s youth had its way against the Celtics’ defense throughout Monday night’s contest in Minneapolis, but Boston’s young gun, Marcus Smart wanted to silence their collective effort in one fell swoop.
Trailing 124-122 with 5.3 seconds remaining in the game, Boston had a chance to pull off a miraculous comeback, as they had trailed by 10 points just a minute and 10 seconds earlier.
Smart received the baseline inbound pass from Jae Crowder and stormed up the right side of the court with his mind set on nothing but the win.
He rose up abruptly, well beyond the arc on the right wing with 2.5 seconds left, and tossed a prayer over Rickey Rubio’s outstretched right hand. The ball clanged off the front of the rim, and Minnesota hung on for the two-point victory.
As Smart stormed up the court, he had the option to pass to a wide-open Isaiah Thomas who was streaking up the opposite side with his arms raised while calling for the ball. Smart’s competitive eye, however, was locked on the basket and he wanted to deliver the final blow.
The 21-year-old youngster showed great confidence with the ball in his hands and the clock ticking down, and you can’t harp on him for that. Unfortunately his attempt came up just inches short, along with Boston’s hope to pull off a miraculous last-minute comeback.
Boston put forth its fourth 120-point effort in its last six games Monday night, and this time it was Jae Crowder leading the scoring charge.
Crowder notched a career-high 27 points, 16 of which were scored during the third quarter alone. He shot 9-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
The swingman’s biggest shot of the night was his last one: A 3-pointer that not only established his new career high, but also brought the C’s within one point of the Timberwolves with 6.2 seconds remaining in the game.
Along with his stellar performance from the field, Crowder hit all five of his free throw attempts and tallied nine boards, three assists and a pair of steals.
Brad Stevens on Boston’s late-game comeback.
