Celtics’ Smart suspended 1 game by NBA for language at ref

<p>BOSTON &mdash; Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart was suspended by the league for one game Wednesday because of “threatening language” he directed at a referee a night earlier.</p>
<p>The suspension forced him to miss Wednesday night’s home game against Charlotte.</p>
<p>“I just found out about 15 minutes ago,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said during his pregame media availability, just over 90 minutes before tip-off.</p>
<p>“I’m not even completely aware of what happened,” Stevens said. “I did hear there were words after the game.”</p>
<p>The NBA did not provide many specifics in a news release beyond saying the incidents with Smart occurred “during and after the Celtics’ 119-115 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.”</p>
<p>“I saw Marcus this morning. We talked about it," Stevens said.</p>
<p>Boston was already short-handed at point guard. Kemba Walker is out with a left oblique strain.</p>
<p>“Point guard by committee tonight,” Stevens said.</p>
<p>Boston was blown out by the Hornets in the teams’ last meeting, 125-104 in Charlotte on Sunday.</p>
<p>Boston entered in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games ahead of eighth-place Charlotte.</p>
<p>Both teams are fighting for a playoff spot and looking to avoid the play-in games for teams that finish between seventh and 10th in the conference.</p>
<p>The Celtics have lost four of their last five games following a six-game winning streak.</p>
<hr />
<p>More AP NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/NBA">https://apnews.com/NBA</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a></p>