Celtics' Crowder wants apology from J.R. Smith over last season's injury

There was bound to be some controversy heading into the Boston Celtics' game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night after last season's heated playoff matchup.

Celtics small forward Jae Crowder is refusing to let bygones be bygones after suffering a knee injury at the hands of Cleveland's J.R. Smith in Game 4.

"I hope he apologizes (Tuesday), to be honest with you," said Crowder to CBS Sports' Matt Moore. "I hope it wasn't intentional. But if he doesn't (apologize), then we'll play ball."

Smith was ejected from the game following the cheap shot, eventually serving a two-game suspension for the incident. He responded to Crowder's request by saying, "Honestly man, I'm done with that whole situation," he said. "I'm not even going to feed into it."

Crowder wasn't the only player who suffered a controversial injury in that game, as Kevin Love missed the rest of the playoffs with a dislocated shoulder after getting tangled with Kelly Olynyk. However, the 6-foot-10, Santa Monica-native was more forgiving than his counterpart.

"As far as any animosity or holding any sort of angst towards (Kelly) Olynyk or the Boston Celtics, I don't feel that at all. I think they're all quality people," Love said to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com.

Tuesday's contest is important, with Cleveland and Boston currently sitting just two games apart.