The Boston Celtics banned a fan for the rest of this season and next season for yelling a racial slur at DeMarcus Cousins.

The incident took place when the Warriors visited Boston in January. Cousins told Celtics security that the fan "muttered the n-word." The fan was then removed from the stadium.

The Warriors were recently notified of the punishment. 

Kyrie Irving was critical of the Boston Celtics' defense following their 124-117 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets came back after being down 112-94 with over 8 minutes left in the game.

Kemba Walker scored 18 of his 36 points in the 4th quarter.

"Down the stretch, try to come in and help as much as possible. We should have probably trapped him a little bit more, like every team does in the league. But we didn't. Torches us every time we play him. So it's no surprise," said Irving.

The Celtics scored just twice in their final 20 possessions.

"This game was over in the beginning of the fourth quarter. We took our foot off the gas pedal, got it to a five-point game and momentum shifted from there," he added.

Greg Monroe has agreed to a 10-day contract with the Boston Celtics.

Monroe averaged 4.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in 11.1 minutes over 38 games with the Toronto Raptors this season.

Monroe was traded by the Raptors to the Brooklyn Nets and then waived at the deadline.

Monroe finished last season with the Celtics.

Marcus Smart said he will always protect himself after getting ejected for shoving Joel Embiid earlier this week. Smart was fined $50,000 for the incident. 

"I’ll do it over again. I’m going to protect myself at all times, especially if I don’t feel like I’m being protected out there like everybody else is. If you don’t want to clean it up, I’ll clean it up myself," said Smart.

Brad Stevens said Smart needed to be more thoughtful and take the circumstances into consideration.

"I'm disappointed in Marcus (Smart). We need you. (Aron) Baynes is already out. We need him to be in the game, no matter what happened. We needed that to happen."

Marcus Smart has been fined $50,000 by the NBA for shoving Joel Embiid to the floor.

The NBA issued the fine to Smart due to his repeated acts of unsportsmanlike conduct, including two prior incidents this season.

Smart received a Flagrant Foul 2 and an automatic ejection for the incident with Embiid.

Marcus Smart was ejected after pushing Joel Embiid during the Boston Celtics 118-115 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

"Obviously, I was frustrated, because it was a cheap shot. I didn't see it coming. It caught me off guard. But, I mean, I really don't want to talk about it. I don't care," said Embiid after the game.

The Celtics also lost Aron Baynes with a sprained ankle in the second quarter. 

Brad Stevens said Baynes suffered a Grade 2 spain. He did not give a timetable for his return.

Returning to Boston as a member of the Denver Nuggets, Isaiah Thomas expressed his love for the Boston Celtics and the city before their matchup. 

Thomas added that he reached out to Danny Ainge during free agency last season.

"I know we left on bad terms with me being traded. I wanted them to know that the interest was there. I didn’t know if they were interested, and I wasn’t saying I wanted to come back and be the guy. I was just saying if the opportunity presents itself, just know I’m interested," said Thomas.

Thomas, a free agent this summer, left the door open for his return.

"You never know. You can’t predict the future. My options are always open for anybody. I’m a Denver Nugget now, but I’m a free agent at the end of the season, and you never know what can happen. Who knows?"

Gordon Hayward strained his neck following a collision in the first quarter against the Atlanta Hawks. His timetable is day-to-day.

"I talked to him at halftime. Obviously, pretty woozy from that hit. I don't have any update on him, but you could see right away that it was quite a hit," said Brad Stevens.

Al Horford briefly left the game in the 3rd quarter after banging his knee, but returned in the 4th.

Stevens said that the Celtics will rest Horford for 3-4 games over the next 12 games.

"We have three or four games already picked out over the next 12 that Al will not play," said Stevens.

James Dolan revealed the New York Knicks have already heard from players and their representatives expressing interest in joining the franchise this offseason.

The Knicks have been linked with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

“No, look, New York is the mecca of basketball,” Dolan said. “We hear from people all the time, from players, representatives. It’s about who wants to come. We can’t respond because of the NBA rules, but that doesn’t stop them from telling us and they do.

“I can tell you from what we’ve heard I think we’re going to have a very successful offseason when it comes to free agents. The thing about the team now is that it’s very young. It’s the youngest team in the NBA. You take a look at some of the players that we have and they won’t be the centerpiece of the team, but as complements to the centerpiece of the team, we’re developing them right now.”

Dolan was asked if he expects the best available free agents to sign with the Knicks.

“Yes, I do think that,” he said. “I think we offer a pretty good situation for them. One, is a lot of them love New York. A bunch of them live in New York in the offseason. They know the team. They know [David Fizdale] really well. They know Steve [Mills) and they know Scott [Perry]. I think they’re fairly confident about the organization.

“Players who are free agents want to go to a winner and they want to get paid. We’re definitely going to pay them. And we think with them combined with the kids that we have, that we can build a winning team.”

Kyrie Irving was asked for his thoughts on the Los Angeles Clippers' season and turned it into a ringing endorsement for Doc Rivers.

"It's so easy to play for a guy that's been a player in this league," said Irving of Rivers.

"He's won a championship and he's done unbelievable things in this league for his players while giving them confidence to go out there and be who they are.

"Lou (Williams) signed an extension for a reason, and that's Doc. He puts those guys in position, gives them the freedom and keeps them encouraged throughout the whole game -- especially when they're at home."

Rivers had a 13-year NBA playing career while Brad Stevens played collegiately at DePauw.

The Los Angeles Clippers plan to pursue multiple max level free agent this offseason.