The Boston Celtics continued their hot streak of winning basketball as they dominated the Golden State Warriors 110-88 in the Chase Center.
Marcus Smart came up huge with some big shots down the stretch and finished the game with 20 points, eight assists, and four rebounds.
In addition, the defensive presence Smart had against the high-powered Warriors team allowed for the Celtics to dominate on both sides of the ball. Jayson Tatum interrupted Smart’s post-game interview to let the country know Smart deserves a Defensive Player of the Year bid.
“This the Defensive Player of the Year. I know it’s been big men lately, but they gotta go back to the guards.” Tatum said.
The Celtics held the Warriors to 88 points, the 11th time Beantown has held a team to 90 points or fewer in a game. They currently have the top defensive rating in the League at 105.5.
Smart this season has a total of 72 steals and 23 blocks. The last guard to win DPOY honors was Gary Payton in 1995-96, who finished with 231 steals and 19 blocks that season.
This win put the Celtics (42-28) have won eight of their last 10, winning six of their previous seven making them one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference. They are sitting at fourth in the East right now and look to continue the winning as they prepare to play the Kings on Friday.
