The Boston Celtics vs Cleveland Cavaliers rivalry doesn't appear to have lost any juice despite LeBron James' departure. On Saturday, the two teams squared off in a preseason rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals and it didn't take long for emotions to boil over.
With just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter, a scuffle broke out between the teams after J.R. Smith and Celtics big man Aron Baynes became entangled in the paint. Boston's Marcus Smart quickly interjected himself into the situation and pushed Smith before Jayson Tatum wrestled him to the ground.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1048786223404371968
Smart was ejected from the game and on his way to the locker room he gestured for Smith to meet him there to settle the score. "I told him to come back to the back. All that on the court? We can handle that off of the court," Smart said after the game, according to ESPN. "I ain't with that." He continued, "So whatever happens happens. JR knows where I'm at. Everybody knows where I'm at. It is what it is."
Smith told reporters after the game, "At the end of the day, I'm not going to sit here and lose money over trying to fight Marcus Smart. I'm not going to lose money over my tattoo, so why would I lose it over him?"
As it turns out, Smith ended up losing money anyway. Shams Charania reports that Smart was fined $25,000 today, and Smith $15,000.
The two teams won't see each other again until their first meeting of the regular season on November 30 in Boston.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1049335622513713152
https://twitter.com/_/status/1048770092085927936
