As far as Hawks forward Josh Smith is concerned, the only thing could keep him from playing in Game 4 against the Boston Celtics on Sunday is an unexpected stumble.

“If I fall down the escalator and re-injure something,” Smith said Saturday.

That kind of freak accident may not be so implausible considering the way the Hawks’ injury luck has gone this year. But, barring such an event, Smith plans to return to the lineup.

He sat out a 90-84 loss to Boston on Friday after suffering a sprained right knee and aggravating his patellar tendinitis in Game 2. The Hawks are down 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, and a loss in Game 4 essentially would finish them: Only eight teams in NBA history have overcome a 3-1 series deficit.

“I’m probably going to play regardless how [the knee] feels because I know the importance of this game,” Smith said. “We can do special things because we are a deep team, and very talented. Any other team with three guys who play major minutes are out, they tend to struggle. But we was right there almost about to win.

via Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution