The thriving Boston Celtics just had one of their key backcourt players back last Sunday as point guard Marcus Smart saw action in a 100–91 win over the New York Knicks.
Smart has been out since Nov. 20 and missed 18 games due to a knee injury, with Sunday's contest being his first game back from the major health setback.
In the victory over New York, Smart came off the bench and played 13 minutes, tallying six points, three rebounds, and one assist.
Smart has been recognized as one of the future faces of the franchise and this season is averaging 9.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, three assists, and 1.6 steals in 27.5 minutes played per outing.
In ESPN's report, guard Evan Turner who was also a backcourt reserve for Boston and played alongside Smart, said the returning point guard was a "ball of energy" and performed well for someone who has not played nor practiced for a long time.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens also had good words for Smart who had limited playing minutes stating, "I thought he was good. He played those two six-minute stints; I thought he did pretty well. And gave us a nice lift."
Smart spoke about his return and said, according to ESPN, "I felt pretty good. I did a very good job warming up the body. Getting out there felt good to play with those guys again."
It is likely that Smart will continue to have limited playing time that slightly increases each game until he fully recovers and can return to his average minutes.
Boston is currently riding a four-game winning streak which will be on the line when it hosts longtime rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, at the TD Garden this Wednesday.
The Celtics are on the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings with an 18–13 record, identical with that of seventh-placed Orlando Magic.
