BOSTON, MA - APRIL 16: Jimmy Butler #21 of the Chicago Bulls drives against Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics during the third quarter of Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at TD Garden on April 16, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Boston Celtics, the top seed in the East, are clearly angry after losing the first two games of their first-round NBA playoff series against the Chicago Bulls.
Marcus Smart decided to show that anger in a quick but noticeable way in the Celtics’ 111-97 home loss to the Bulls on Tuesday night.
After missing a three-pointer late in the fourth quarter with the Celtics down 100-86, the Boston guard sped back down-court to play defense, and after a fan booed and jeered at him, Smart retorted with angry words of his own and flipped the fan off while pointing at him and running backwards.
Smart’s middle-finger display can’t be seen clearly at first, although cameras later showed a close-up that revealed the 23-year-old former first-round pick (2014) clearly making the insulting gesture. Here is a clip Bleacher Report tweeted of the incident:
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The Bulls, who finished the regular season 41-41, barely made the 2017 playoffs as the No. 8 seed, but are now up 2-0 and will enjoy home-court advantage for Game 3 on Friday night.
Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade led Chicago with 22 points each on Tuesday, and Rajon Rondo added 11 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds.
Butler said that unlike many fans, he is not shocked at how his team has played these playoffs given their regular-season finish.
”I’m not surprised because everybody’s so locked in right now,” said Butler, who added eight rebounds and eight assists.
Wade scored 16 of his points in the second half, and Robin Lopez contributed 18 points. All five Bulls starters recorded double figures.
Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points for the Celtics.
The Celtics got the first four rebounds of the night and scored the game’s first seven points. However, the Bulls countered with a 20-4 burst.
Boston, which shot 46 percent for the night, trailed 91-82 early in the fourth before Chicago went on a 14-4 run to stretch its lead to 19. The Bulls out-rebounded the Celtics 43-38 on offense, and also outscored Boston 32-20 for the second half.
”I feel like in the second half, the ball stopped moving. It wasn’t moving at all,” Celtics guard Avery Bradley said. ”Even when we made a good play, got a steal, got an offensive rebound, we were just thinking quick 3s. As a polished team we have to know when to take those shots and when not to.”
The Bulls capitalized on 16 Celtics turnovers to score 23 points.
Boston fell to just 14-4 in Game 2 at home following a loss in Game 1. Chicago’s win also snapped the Celtics’ six-game winning streak in such games.
BOSTON, MA – APRIL 16: Jimmy Butler #21 of the Chicago Bulls drives against Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics during the third quarter of Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at TD Garden on April 16, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts.
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