Thomas scores 53, Celtics beat Wizards in OT
To even be playing under these circumstances was impressive, but the fact that Thomas is somehow even stepping up his play is nearly unbelievable.
The Boston Celtics spotted Washington the first 16 points of the game and then roared to a 123-111 home victory over the Wizards in the first game of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Wall had 19 points in the period, while Thomas scored 15.
“He’s not human!” TNT announcer Ian Eagle exclaimed as Thomas hit one of his countless clutch fourth quarter shots. He tallied six fewer assists than Wall, but entirely outshined Washington’s floor general during crunch time. Now the Celtics are rolling and looking to take a 2-0 series lead here over the Wizards in the second round.
Looking at the betting trends, the Wizards are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 road games, 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games following a loss of more than 10 points.
In a lot of ways, the tide turned when Markieff Morris injured his ankle after rolling it on Al Horford’s foot.
– Just how well did the Celtics play over the final stretch? It was also a career best for Thomas in a playoff game.
“Today is my sister’s birthday”, Thomas solemnly stated following the game.
“She would have been 23 today”.
His performance certainly would have made her proud. Thomas also was the fourth player in C’s history to score 50 or more points in a playoff game.
According to ESPN.com, after a brief retreat to the locker room for a team doctor to re-place the tooth back in his mouth, Thomas lost it again later.
“When I found out the news I wanted to give up and quit”, Thomas said at the funeral on Saturday.
“I’ll keep enjoying it”.
The Wizards, who led 42-29 after the first period, became the first team since the National Basketball Association introduced a shot clock in 1954 to lose the first two games of a playoff series after leading each by 10 or more points at the end of the first quarter. Jae Crowder finished with 24 points.
– The 4th quarter is Isaiah time, obviously.
“My sister wouldn’t want me to stop …”
“I was playing great defense on him 1-on-1”, said Wall. I’ve always had team-mates that I’ve always clowned them about the tooth being out and now I’m one of them. They can make shots. Jamal Crawford added 20 points off the bench.
After the first five or six minutes of that first game, it didn’t seem like the Celtics would have any sort of chance in the series, let alone the game.