Marcus Smart avoids suspension after 'aggressively pursing' DeAndre' Bembry

Marcus Smart is known across the NBA for his lack of chill, but the Boston Celtics guard might have taken that reputation a little too far on Saturday. He was fortunate to avoid suspension as a result.

A verbal squabble between Smart and Atlanta Hawks wing DeAndre’ Bembry quickly escalated into Smart charging toward his opponent and having to be forcibly removed from Saturday’s game. The NBA fined Smart $35,000 on Monday “for aggressively pursing an opponent in an attempt to escalate a physical altercation and failing to leave the court in a timely manner following the ejection.”

Smart’s aggressive pursuit came after his second technical foul of the night, which earned him an automatic ejection and left him with four points on 1-of-4 shooting and four assists in 17 minutes of Boston’s eventual 113-105 victory. Bembry also earned a technical foul for his role in the argument.

Smart could have been looking at a much stiffer penalty had it not been for the efforts of Celtics director of team security Phil Lynch and teammates Al Horford and Jayson Tatum, all of whom played roles in preventing the 24-year-old guard from reaching Bembry and engaging in a physical altercation.

Smart will presumably be available for Monday’s game against the Miami Heat.

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