KEY POINTS

  • The Boston Celtics squandered a double-digit edge for the second straight game as the Miami Heat took a commanding 2-0 series lead
  • Marcus Smart screamed at his teammates inside the dugout after the loss
  • The Celtics said the tension was nothing out of the ordinary as they shift their focus to Game 3

Tension rose inside the Boston Celtics locker room after the team blew another double-digit edge to fall into a 0-2 hole in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat.

The Celtics were said to have figured in a verbal scuffle after the Game 2 collapse on Thursday as several reports claim that starting point guard Marcus Smart audaciously cussed at his teammates in frustration to the loss.

“Marcus Smart is screaming in the Celtics locker room and there is a bunch of arguing going on. Smart comes out to say ‘y’all on that b*******!’ (The)team is imploding. Smart is in (the) bathroom and there is still screaming coming from the locker room,” Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reported, adding that some members of the team were also heard shouting as items were thrown inside the dugout.

Boston has every reason to be furious with the turnout of the game. After absorbing a heart-breaking overtime time loss in Game 1 on Tuesday, the Celtics failed to atone for their previous blunder as they were left to watch an early 17-point cushion disappear before falling short anew in clutch time that led to the 106-101 setback.

The turmoil could be worrying for Boston but head coach Brad Stevens insisted the scene was nothing but a normal outburst of frustration after a painful defeat.

“Guys were emotional after a hard game — hard loss,” Stevens said, per ESPN’s Malika Andrews.

Several Celtics also dismissed the reported mayhem as they shift their focus on avoiding a 0-3 deficit on Saturday.

“It was nothing,” Kemba Walker said. “It was nothing. I ain’t got much to speak on about it.”

Jaylen Brown, meanwhile, stuck up for Smart, saying it’s just his teammate showing passions as a fierce competitor.

“Who Marcus is, I love him for it,” Brown told reporters. “We’ve got to be ready to come back, take that same fire and add it to Game 3.”

Bam Adebayo, who served as the hero for the Heat in Game 1, took the offensive cudgels for Miami after the halftime break as he went on a personal rampage to lead the team in outscoring the Celtics in the third frame, 37-17.

Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler then took over down the stretch as the Heat staved off a late rally from the Cs to take the commanding series lead.

Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MARCH 08: Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics looks on during the second quarter of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at TD Garden on March 08, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. Omar Rawlings/Getty Images
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