The Boston Celtics have started to come apart at the seams in their opening round series against the 8-seed Chicago Bulls. After a stunning Game 1 loss, many anticipated the Celtics to bounce back in Game 2 and even the series, but instead Tuesday night saw the Celtics get blown out by a 111-97 final to fall behind 0-2 in the series.

Not only have the Celtics played poorly, but the chemistry that was so apparent with this team has seemingly disappeared, with players growing increasingly frustrated with their performance through two games in the playoffs. For Marcus Smart, who is always an emotional player, this boiled over when Marcus Smart gave a fan courtside a single-finger salute after missing a three-pointer in the fourth quarter.



Unsurprisingly, that gesture earned Smart a fine from the league office on Wednesday to the tune of $25,000. Prior to the fine being handed down, Celtics coach Brad Stevens was asked about the incident and said that, while he hadn’t seen it, it was “unacceptable” if it did happen — which, is quite clear from the video.

“I have not heard from the league about it,” Stevens told reporters Wednesday afternoon during a conference call. “I’m not the one that they usually contact; usually they contact the front office. Obviously, I’ve been told of the gesture. I saw a brief video clip of it but, from my clip, from the angle that I saw, I couldn’t tell. But obviously if he made a gesture, it’s unacceptable and that will be handled by the league.”

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a player get into it with fans this year and earn a fine — it’s happened twice to DeMarcus Cousins — but it is rare to see it happen in a player’s home arena.

It’s clear that Boston fans were hoping that after earning the 1-seed, the Celtics would at least make a run at the NBA Finals. Instead, the Celtics lost a tough Game 1 and then came out with a poor level of effort in an extremely important Game 2. The frustration on both sides, from the fans and players, is understandable, but for it to get to the point where Smart is flicking off fans for, what one would assume would be some trash-talk from someone courtside at home is rather incredible.