Marcus Smart explains what went wrong for Celtics on final play vs. Bucks

Celtics

Marcus Smart explains what went wrong for C’s on late inbounds play vs. Bucks

It never should have come down to the final minute of Game 5 vs. the Milwaukee Bucks for the Boston Celtics.

Nevertheless, the C’s were in position to hold off the Bucks in the fourth quarter on Wednesday at TD Garden as their 14-point lead turned into a 1-point deficit with 11 seconds left following a Bobby Portis basket off a missed free throw from Giannis Antetokounmpo.

With a chance to retake the lead off an inbounds play along the base line, Marcus Smart was swatted away by Jrue Holiday as he went for a layup, leading to the Bucks retaking possession, sinking a pair of free throws and holding on for a 110-107 win.

What exactly happened on the play, and why wasn’t Smart able to find an open target?

Celtics-Bucks takeaways: Milwaukee stuns C’s late to steal Game 5

According to Smart, the play was designed for Jayson Tatum but from Smart’s perspective, everyone ahead seemed to be standing around.

“JT [Tatum] was supposed to come and get it but everyone was just standing around,” Smart said. “We had no timeouts, there was a 5-second count, I just got open and tried to make a play. Jrue did a good job of helping. That’s it, he made a good play.”

Many things went wrong for the Celtics down the stretch, and as a result, their season is on the brink in Game 6 on Friday back in Milwaukee.