NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. WARRIORS

June 8, 2022

Marcus Smart

Boston Celtics

Game 3: Postgame

Celtics 116, Warriors 100

Q. Marcus, you said yesterday you wanted to help the ball control issues, some of the things going on on that end of the floor. You make yourself available, some of those screening plays. How do you go about getting the ball in your hands and making stuff happen on a team with lots of ball handlers?

MARCUS SMART: Like I said before, Jaylen and Jayson, they're going to get everybody's best two defenders. Usually most teams put their not the best defenders on me, and it's my job as the point guard to really just relieve pressure for those guys. They're going to be hounded 24/7 and their job is already hard, so it's no need to make it harder by putting the ball in their hand and just tiring them out.

Q. What did you make of Rob's timely rotations and help at the rim tonight, and how meaningful was that to have somebody in position if you do make a mistake or concede a drive?

MARCUS SMART: It's huge. He's been doing that for us all year. That's why our defense is where it's at, because the ability that he has to cover that paint and protect it. Like I said, he's been doing it all year. He's just continuing to get better with each and every game. He allows us to be better on the defensive end because of, like I said, his ability to protect the paint for us.

Q. What was going through your mind when the Warriors went up 83-82 and how were you able to finish the quarter and the game strong?

MARCUS SMART: For me, it was just be poised. Just stay calm. We've been here before. They're a really good team. They're going to go on runs, but so are we. We just have to bolt down and go on our run. If I didn't stay as poised and calm and everything else would have went into effect, it would have been a snowball effect for us. I was just trying to control that aspect of the game for me and my teammates.

Q. Marcus, especially after the last couple days, all the talk about physicality and showing that toughness that you guys had for much of the season, what was the key to bringing that back and kind of showing that side of this team again?

MARCUS SMART: Just to do it. We had to. Game 2, they brought the heat to us. For us, that left a bad taste in our mouth because what we hang our hat on is effort on the defensive end and being a physical team. It definitely woke us up a little bit.

We just wanted to come out, and if we were going to come out here and play, the last thing when we left that court we didn't want to say we weren't physical enough. It worked out for us. I give JB credit for the way he came out and started the game. We just followed his lead after that.

Q. You know these guys are going to hit you with a third-quarter run. They did it again tonight. I think it was like 14-2, but this time you guys responded. How much is that third quarter in your minds now when you come out at halftime?

MARCUS SMART: It's on our minds heavy. We talk about it. I think for us all year it's kind of been a little shaky on the third quarter. But we found a way. That's what makes us such a great team, because we still found a way to counterbalance that and come out with a victory or put ourselves in a good position to win at the end of the game.

Q. Just curious when you knew tonight that Rob kind of had that bounce, that verticality, and what does it do for you when he still has it in the fourth quarter?

MARCUS SMART: It does everything for us. It makes us even more dangerous. The way he attacks the rim in the aerial attack for us and it puts a lot of pressure on defenses, especially the one where they're not very big in that 5 position. The things that he can do, just throwing the ball up there and let him go do it, is remarkable. When he's doing that and he's protecting that paint and he's moving the way he's moving, it makes us that much more dangerous.

Q. One of your defining characteristics is playing through pain and playing through injuries. Rob is kind of doing that for the first time in his career. Have you talked to him about that? Have you helped him with that mental aspect of how to get through that stuff and put it out of your head?

MARCUS SMART: Definitely. I'm constantly talking to Rob, just for the simple fact I know what he's going through. He's hurting, and even though he's hurt he still wants to get out and help his team. But at the same time, he's thinking about his career. Like I just told him, you know your body. You know what you can withstand and what you can't. But just know, we've got a chance to do something special. There's no guarantees that we'll be back here.

If you can go, we'll take 20 percent of you better than none of you. He understood that, and he decided to go out there and put his big boy pants on and suck it up and go crazy.

Q. You guys had 52 points in the paint. Was there something you found and that you guys were able to take advantage of?

MARCUS SMART: Yeah, it was just us being us, just continuing to drive the ball and try to find a great shot for our teammates and ourselves. This Warrior team does a very good job of helping each other out on their defensive end. They're going to make you have to make the right play every single time, and if you don't, they're going to make you pay.

For us, it was just getting in the paint and making the right play. We took what they gave us, and that was it.

Q. You know this crowd as well as anybody. First Finals game for all of you guys. You know the history, you look up, you see the banners. Are you too locked in to soak any of that up or did it feel any different?

MARCUS SMART: It definitely felt different. It definitely adds fuel to the fire for us, gives us goosebumps to be able to say that. Took this team, took this organization 12 years since they have been here, to have it back and be in the Finals. When we look up and see those banners, see those numbers, it's something that gives us, like I said, that motivation to go out there and try to be the next person up.