BOSTON — The moment was warm, but quick.
With 8:50 left in the first quarter, Marcus Smart got up off the visitors’ bench and jogged to the scorer’s table and checked in to replace Jaylen Wells. As the Celtics’ public address announcer introduced him to the game, much of the TD Garden crowd stood and cheered.
In a blue uniform with short, not-green hair, Smart looked the same, but different, like the cousin who only visits every Christmas.
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Smart missed large chunks of last season with injuries and wasn’t on the floor for either Memphis game against Boston. He made the trip to the Garden last year when he was injured and the Celtics saluted him with a tribute video. But Saturday was playing in Boston since Game 7 of 2022 Eastern Conference Finals against the Heat or competing against the Celtics since he was traded.
Smart said he has no ill will toward his former team and was rooting for his former teammates who are still his friends, last year against the Mavericks.
“I was very happy for those guys to win it,” Smart said before the game. “I said ‘what’s up’ to everybody, told them congratulations and stuff. Obviously, you want to be a part of it. (Expletive) happens. You just gotta move on. Like I said, there’s no hard feelings with those guys. I know what those guys have been through, I know what they sacrificed. So I’m just proud to see that they finally reached their goal.”
His warmth extended to the fans. Smart raised his left hand and waved to all quadrants of the sold-out arena but then got down to business.
Smart is now the sixth man on a Memphis team. He’s a leader and a mentor on a young squad whose health hasn’t caught up with its talent.
On Memphis’ first possession, Smart got the ball and drove at Jayson Tatum. He looked pretty smooth for a guy who injured his ankle earlier this week. But the ball rolled off the rim.
The Celtics got the rebound and moved the ball until it found Jrue Holiday in the corner. For all practical purposes, Holiday has replaced Smart’s contributions — a little shooting, a little driving, a lot of defense and a big helping of leadership — and done each of them just a little better.
But fate wasn’t cruel enough to rub that in Smart’s face. Holiday missed and then missed another open 3 a few moments later. He was 8-for-26 in the game.
Whether it was his ankle, nerves or just an off-shooting night. Smart shot 1-for-11 and had three points, two rebounds and two assists in 19 quiet minutes off the bench. Probably not the stat line he hoped for, but he did get the result as the Grizzlies won 127-121.
After the game, he lingered a little longer in the postgame handshake line and shared an extended hug and a chat with Jaylen Brown before scampering into the locker room.
Like most players with plenty of tread still on their tires, Smart hadn’t spent much time thinking about where his contributions fit into Celtics history but believed he’d been a positive.
“I think my legacy is going to speak for itself. I don’t know what the end of my legacy will be here, what story will be told. But I know I’ve done my part,” he said before the game. “I think I made a great enough impact that it should be a good one.”
FollowMassLive sports columnist Matt Vautouron Twitter at@MattVautour424.