Isaiah Thomas capped a career-high 53-point performance with nine points in overtime as the Boston Celtics beat the Washington Wizards 129-119 on Tuesday at TD Garden to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The Boston Celtics host the Washington Wizards in game two of their semi-final playoffs on May 2 at 8pm EST.
Instead, it was Thomas' own offensive heroics that made the difference, as the Celtics claimed a 2-0 lead in this second-round playoff series.
The All-Star led the Celtics to a first-round win over Chicago in a haze after learning the day before that series began that his younger sister, Chyna Thomas, had died in a auto accident outside of his native Tacoma, Washington.
Washington led by as many as 14 in the third and still had an 87-75 lead with just over 4 minutes left before Boston scored nine of the next 11 points to end the quarter. He had 29 just in the fourth quarter and overtime, for only the second 50-point game in Boston's storied playoff history. Thomas scored 29 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, which nearly matched the Wizards as a team, who scored 30.
Thomas is now just the fourth player in Celtics history to score 50 or more points in a playoff game.
Kevin Durant added 15 points on an uncharacteristically cold shooting night at 6 for 14 and also five rebounds and five assists. It plays Washington in Game 2 on Tuesday night. We've got your way to watch game two via live stream when the action tips off at 8pm EST on May 2.
"She would have been 23 today so everything I do is for her, and she's watching over me so that's all her".
Isaiah Thomas (53 points) exploded in the fourth quarter.
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John Wall didn't get going until the second half, finishing with 20 points and 14 assists in the 123-111 Boston win.
"Seven days can get a little bit tough", Green said.
Wall ended up with 40 points to lead Washington, while Morris chipped in 16 markers.
The Wizards took a 110-104 lead by allowed threes from Thomas and Terry Rozier (12 points) and Wall and Bradley Beal each missed chances to win to end the game in regulation.
Boston's Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas after Game 1 win.
He came back for the second half after getting it iced, but he still had some apparent issues with it, so much so that Celtics coach Brad Stevens said afterward that he didn't expect him to come back in the game.
Boston's lineup decision could ultimately hinge on the availability of Wizards forward Markieff Morris, who remained adamant Monday that he would play in Tuesday's Game 2 despite spraining his ankle. His teammates went on a 13-2 run without him to cut into Washington's lead.
A rivalry has been simmering between the teams since a year ago, when Boston swept the season series. "And never in my life have I ever thought about quitting", Thomas said at the funeral, as reported by Masslive.com, reading from a cellphone with black shades blocking his tears.
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