The Celtics may have just completed the greatest comeback in the NBA so far this season. How’d they seal the deal? With two James Harden offensive fouls.
Marcus Smart flopped the Celtics into a massive comeback win
This was legitimately incredible.
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First, the Celtics scored a quick bucket down one. Before Trevor Ariza could even get the ball inbounds, Harden was called for an offensive foul on Marcus Smart.
And of course the Celtics scored on the next possession. Then, the Rockets had to inbound the ball again. And what happened? You guessed it — offensive foul.
TNT capture
The official was right there. It’s rare that you get one offensive foul to close out a game, but two? That’s unprecedented.
It sealed the deal for Boston, and both were fairly questionable calls, especially given Smart’s history. He’s a known flopper and has done it to Harden and the Rockets before.
Granted, the Rockets put themselves in this position with no timeouts because they couldn’t get the ball inbounded properly earlier in the quarter. The officials were also under pressure with only a two-man squad on the floor tonight.
Still, this was a silly way to end a wild game. It’s not something you see very often, and it’s probably something we won’t see again for a while.
Smart is a pest and he knows it.
Either way, that’s another comeback win for the Celtics behind their spectacular defense. They did a fantastic job in the second half.
