Isaiah Thomas dropped 31 points in the Boston Celtics’ Wednesday night win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, but “only” six of those points came during a pivotal fourth quarter, through which the point guard shot 1-of-4. This naturally led to questions about what the Cavaliers did to shut down Thomas, and the floor general was none too happy about it.
Via Mass Live’s Jay King:
Boston Celtics star Isaiah Thomas disagreed with a reporter who suggested the Cleveland Cavaliers held him in check for most of the fourth quarter Wednesday night…
Reporter: “What clicked or changed (for you) late in the fourth quarter? They kind of held you in check for most of the frame?”
Thomas: “Nobody holds me in check. Don’t say that.”
Reporter: “So what changed for you to have an assist on two possessions and score two buckets there on four straight possessions?”
Thomas: “I made plays. I average 30 points for a reason. I made plays. They doubled me, I passed it to Jae (Crowder), he hit a shot. I passed to Avery (Bradley), I believe in my teammates. Then I hit a 3-pointer where they miscommunicated on their coverage. But my job every day, no matter what the defense throws at me is to make plays, score the ball. And I try to do that to the best of my ability.”
Although Thomas didn’t get a ton of buckets in the fourth—or even buckets, plural—he did make some nice passes, collecting two of his five assists. He also hit two big free throws to put pressure on the Cavaliers in the final seconds, and his drives still forced the defense to collapse.
Basically, Thomas is saying he needn’t get buckets to make plays. And this is true. It’s also true that the Celtics have a higher net rating in the fourth quarter, Thomas’ foremost jam, when he’s not on the court, according to NBA.com. It’s a bizarre situation, really—one of those weird quirks that doesn’t align with the eye test.
In this specific instance, though, Thomas was a team-high plus-seven during the final frame, proving yet again, if nothing else, that he’s an integral part to the Celtics’ success even when he’s not doing what he’s most renowned for.
