WASHINGTON D.C. -- The Boston Celtics had very few enjoyable moments in Monday’s 99-94 loss to the Washington Wizards, but one of the only ones involved an old friend.

In the third quarter, Isaiah Thomas got trapped near half court by Tremont Waters and Grant Williams. As Thomas inched toward the sideline, he called timeout, and the officials gave him the call. Brad Stevens didn’t think Thomas had possession of the ball and began arguing, much to Thomas’ delight.

According to Marcus Smart, smiling about the incident after the game, Thomas was hoping Stevens would pick up a technical.

“When they trapped IT on the sideline, he lost the ball and called a timeout and the officials awarded him the timeout without the ball,” Smart said. “Brad was obviously heated about that, and IT was just egging them on and instigating for Brad to get a tech, because Brad was pretty amped up.”

Smart took matters into his own hands: Grabbing his good friend and pushing him back to the Wizards’ bench with a big grin. Even Stevens, presumably still upset about the call, was amused as Smart ushered Thomas away.

“It was good to see him,” Smart said. “It was good to see him out there playing. It was good to see him happy.”

Before the game, Stevens said Thomas was the perfect type of player for a rebuilding team like Washington.

“He’s a guy that’s in the gym, he’s a guy that works, he’s a guy that loves basketball,” Stevens said. “He takes others under his wing, he’s always up cheering others. He’s the right kind of guy to be around young players in any situation.

“He’s looked good, they’ve looked good, this team has been really fun to watch all year, but in the last four to six games they’ve had some really remarkable performances.”

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