Marcus Smart shouted at Celtics assistant coaches because they wouldn’t let him back into the game

Celtics point guard Marcus Smart barked at several assistant coaches on the bench before leaving the game in the fourth quarter of Boston’s 123-108 loss to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.

With just under 2:30 left in the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ loss, Smart got into a dispute with at least two different coaches on the bench. The disagreement, according to Masslive.com’s Jay King, was caused by head coach Brad Stevens’ decision not to put his point guard back into the game after playing 12 minutes in a row.

“He just wanted to go back in. And he had played 12 (straight) minutes or whatever, so he wasn’t going to go back in,” Stevens said. “He wanted to go back in. He wanted to go back in badly.”

It appeared Smart attempted to check himself back into the game by walking over to the scorer’s table without his coach’s permission.

“Of course I wanted to go back in, like everybody else, to play it out and give everything that I have -- leave it on the court,” said Smart, who retreated to the locker room after the dispute. “We had different opinions on that.”

Late Tuesday night, Smart tweeted an apology for his tirade on the bench.

Smart’s temper flare was the result of a budding Wizards-Celtics rivalry that may have unofficially began a year ago when Smart’s elbow clipped Bradley Beal’s face, breaking Beal’s nose and giving him a concussion.

It may be why Beal was fired up after converting a three-point play in an isolation against Smart late in the fourth quarter.

The rivalry began this season in November when John Wall was ejected for a hard foul on Smart. Washington won the first game, 118-93.

In their second meeting on Jan. 11, Wall and Jae Crowder had some words for each other, resulting in Crowder poking the All-Star point guard in the face. The Celtics won that game, 117-108, and Crowder ($25,000) and Wall ($15,000) each were assessed fines by the league.

On Tuesday, the Wizards dressed in all black for their matchup with the Celtics.

They went on to beat Boston, 123-108.

“All black everything,” Wall said. “A funeral.”

The Wizards got what they wanted, and Smart let his emotions get the best of him in the end. Washington and Boston face each other for the fourth and final time on March 20. It’s safe to say both teams have that date circled on their calendars.