As he got set to attempt his second free throw, Marcus Smart pantomimed his upcoming shot with a motion that would have made a shooting guru cringe. It was more of a chest pass motion than a set shot.
With Boston leading Portland 116-115, Smart went to the line with 3.5 seconds left. With his normal form, he missed the first free throw. Had he made it, he’d have tried to hit the second and to get a three-point lead. But recognizing the Trail Blazers had no timeouts, the Celtics opted for the intentional miss.
“It’s obvious. They’re going to get a 3-point shot off with 3.5 seconds and no timeouts most likely. So you want to make it as hard as possible,” Brad Stevens said. “It wouldn’t matter if we were up one or two at that moment. You have such a better chance with them taking time away with them catching the ball going toward their basket. (Damian) Lillard doesn’t get a full head of steam going down the court or the chance to draw a foul on an out-of-bounds play.”
Smart was worried about making sure he at least hit the rim to create a live rebound.
“I was in a similar spot not too long ago and I hit nothing but the backboard,” Smart said. “I wanted to make sure I hit the rim and bounced the way we needed it to.”
But Smart bounced it off the iron to the left side of the net. Lillard burned time getting the defensive rebound and was off-balance to heave the final shot that was well off the mark.
“With Dame, he’s such a great player you have to respect his ability to get to the line to shoot the ball with range and to get to the cup,” Smart said.
PRITCHARD IN OREGON: Payton Pritchard has had many memorably good games at Portland’s Moda Center. This won’t be one of them. The star guard who led West Linn (Oregon) High School to four state championships on this same floor, also had games here as an Oregon Duck.
But with COVID-19 preventing his friends, family or anyone else from attending, Pritchard had two points (1-for-7 shooting 0-for-3 from behind the arc), two rebounds, one assist and one turnover in 12 minutes in the win.
ENES KANTER REUNION: Before the game, Kanter, who spent the 2019-20 season in Boston, made the rounds through the Celtics’ players, greeting and embracing his former teammates.
Kanter, who is in his second stint in Portland after one season in Boston entered the game averaging a career-best 11.9 rebounds per game, a total helped by grabbing 30 boards Saturday against the Pistons. He had nine points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes.
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