Marcus Smart Boston Celtics
Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics calls for the ball during the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Jan. 23, 2018. Harry How/Getty Images

KEY POINTS

  • Marcus Smart said he turned left so he won’t hit the boy
  • Celtics was leading by three points when the play happened
  • Smart checked on the kid several times and gave the kid his jersey after the game

Everybody knew that the Boston Celtics beat the Atlanta Hawks on Vince Carter’s final game at the Beantown while some people will remember Marcus Smart diving for the ball off Jayson Tatum’s miss with 18.3 seconds left in the fourth.

That loose ball dive by Smart was of sheer hustle but at the last second, he spun to his left so that a kid will not absorb the momentum of his 220-pound frame. He may not have saved the ball to give his team the extra possession but he was able to save something that’s more important than the leather.

John Karalis of Mass Live News tweeted the back story of the play and revealed that the kid is a pediatric cancer patient. Smart stumbled on the stands back first but importantly, the kid was not hurt.

On the following tweet, the former Oklahoma State Cowboy was aware that he will crash into somebody and that prompted him to change the direction of his momentum so he won’t hit the child. After the game, he went back to the seats of the kids and checked up on them and Smart gave them his jersey.

Fans on Twitter made sure that they give props to the last season’s All-Defensive First Team member.

On the lighter note, the 25-year old guard expected Twitter to blow him up with helmet memes and yes, he was right.

Smart’s dive didn’t give the Celtics the possession for a chance to seal the victory for Boston as the baseline referee caught him stepping at the sidelines and awarding the possession to Atlanta. The Hawks, however, failed to capitalize on the possession as Kevin Huerter and Brandon Goodwin missed their respective potential equalizers to send the game into a five-minute extension. He finished with nine points, six assists, five boards, a steal, and a block in 32 minutes.

Two free-throws by Romeo Langford made both his charities to settle the final score, 112-107 as the Celtics escape the Hawks scare despite missing Trae Young to an ankle injury.

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