BOSTON -- Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens misinterpreted a league memo on intentional fouling, and it might have played a key role in Boston's buzzer-beating win over the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night.
Stevens believed an email from the league last week suggested that intentionally fouling during a free-throw attempt -- something that has occurred a couple times recently with players actually piggybacking opponents during free-throw attempts -- would result in a flagrant foul call. It's part of the reason Stevens subbed Marcus Smart into Friday's game during a key sequence in Boston's last-second rally, and it was Smart who helped get Boston the ball back for a final shot attempt that saw Avery Bradley hit a game-winning 3-pointer to defeat the Cavaliers.