Marcus Smart. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Marcus Smart played a pivotal role in helping the Celtics to a 2-0 East finals lead on the Cavaliers in last night's 13-point win.
Smart was a plus-21 in his 31 minutes, with 11 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, no turnovers, and countless winning plays.
Cavs star LeBron James and the C's Jaylen Brown know that's just Marcus being Marcus.
"He makes plays at the right time," James said. "They put the ball in his hand and they trust him to make plays for others. He has a really uncanny ability to get into the lane and either creates for himself or create for others, and he did that a lot tonight with nine assists and also had some offensive rebounds, some missed shots. He's always been very productive for the ball club."
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Plenty of heart, spirit, and grit have carried the Green to a 2-0 East finals lead.
"He's the one with his hands dirty," Brown said. "I'm just happy he's on our side. Tremendous effort from him on one of the biggest stages we've all played on. I commend Smart for coming with that hard hat that he always has."
Smart also jumped to the defense of Al Horford after J.R. Smith shoved him under the basket and risked major injury.
"But it's not the first time J.R.'s done some dirty stuff, especially playing against us," Smart said. "It's like a bully--you keep letting a bully keep picking on you, he's gonna keep picking on you until you finally stand up, and that's what I tried to do."
Game 3 is Saturday in Cleveland.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman reports