Crowder sprained his ACL in the final game of the series after a backhand from J.R. Smith, something he hasn’t really forgotten.
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Pressed further, Crowder said of Smith, “I hope he apologizes tomorrow, to be honest with you”.
Crowder said that he hoped Smith’s actions weren’t intentional when asked about the play, but said “we’ll play ball” if Smith doesn’t apologize. “But if he doesn’t apologize, then we’ll play ball”, the Celtics swingman told ESPN.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to increase their lead atop the Eastern Conference standings when they visit the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden on Tuesday night. Immediately after the game, Love accused Olynyk of dirty tactics and would not accept his calls of apology in the subsequent weeks. LeBron James led the way with 25 points and eight assists, Timofey Mozgov added 17 while James Jones had 15 as the Cavaliers broke the game open with a 14-1 run in the second quarter before pulling away to an easy win to improve to 15-7 on the season overall and 5-6 on the road where they have lost two of their last three.
Smith was ejected for the shot to Crowder’s face, but claimed the swing was accidental following the win.
“I apologized to [Love]. So I think we’re all right right now”. “I am following in the footsteps of others who have self-identified in the hopes that will send a message to young men and women in sports that you must allow no one to make you feel ashamed of who you are”.
The Celtics nearly ended the winning streak of the Golden State Warriors before the Milwaukee Bucks did (and maybe wore them down for the Bucks), so it’s no secret that Avery Bradley, Isaiah Thomas, and the rest of Brad Stevens’ team isn’t to be taken lightly. There is a basketball game to be played – one of 82, as they’ll say – and both clubs may be a bit tired from the schedule to do more than what will be required in a hoop duel that should be more competitive than their playoff dates.
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With Iman Shumpert back in the fold and J.R. Smith recovered from an illness that kept him out of Friday’s contest in Orlando, it’ll be interesting to see how Coach Blatt handles the 2-guard situation on Tuesday night. The two got tangled up chasing a rebound in Game 4 at the Garden, with Love dislocating his left shoulder. We all know Kelly and we all know that he didn’t intend to hurt him.
