MANILA, Philippines — The Boston Celtics drew inspiration from their home fans in their crucial 116-100 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game Three of the NBA Finals in TD Garden on Wednesday (Thursday, Manila time).
With the series lead on the line, Boston were able to lean on their sixth man on the stands, which brought a tremendous atmosphere to the game.
"Definitely think we did," Marcus Smart said of the Celtics feeding off the energy in the arena.
"When you got an environment like last night, it's kind of hard to not feed off the energy. It was electrifying. It was chaotic. It was perfect for the timing of it," he added.
Smart, the reigning defensive player of the year, also said it might've played a key role in affecting one of their competitors — Draymond Green.
Known to irk fans of the opposite team, Green was the bane to the Celtics fans eyes and was able to hear it from them personally during Game Three.
"I definitely think it may have affected Draymond in some way, but we all know Draymond feeds off that as well," said Smart.
"It's kind of hard to say how much of an effect it really had on him because he embraces that, that's who he is. He takes that on and he uses that to fuel him," he added.
Still, Smart isn't getting overconfident that the fans can easily tow them again in Game Four.
The 28-year-old says whether its in TD Garden or Chase Center, his team will be bringing the same kind of game.
"As a competitor, it don't matter what side you're on, home or away, when the energy is like, that you definitely feel it and you take it on and you let it fuel you," he said.
Game Four is set to tip off on Friday (Saturday in Manila) where the Celtics seek to take a dominant 3-1 lead and move to the cusp of the NBA title.