Thomas scored 53 points Tuesday night in helping the Boston Celtics reach a 2-0 series lead over the Washington Wizards.
Western Conference (first round): Utah 104 bt Los Angeles Clippers 91 (Utah wins series 4-3).
The Game 2 victory in the Eastern Conference second-round series came on what would have been Chyna Thomas' 23rd birthday if she hadn't been killed in a auto crash on April 15.
The All-Star led the Celtics to a first-round win over Chicago in a haze after learning the day before the series began that his younger sister, Chyna Thomas, had died in a auto accident outside of his native Tacoma, Washington.
Boston struggled early in their opening round series against the Chicago Bulls but they played better in closing the Bulls out and that play seems to have carried over in game 1. The Wizards came out with muscles flexed and rocketed to a 16-0 nothing lead, with Marcin Gortat beasting on the block a la Robin Lopez and keeping things alive for a Washington offense that didn't miss much early on.
But the Boston battled back with a 30-16 blitz to take a 59-58 lead late in second before Washington closed the half strong to take a five-point edge.
Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas checks out his recent dental work prior to the first quarter of a second-round NBA playoff series basketball game against the Washington Wizards in Boston, Tuesday, May 2, 2017.
The Wizards led 50-40 with Beal (14 points) and Otto Porter (13 points, nine rebounds) combining to shoot 0-for-3 from the field.
Brad Stevens said Isaiah Thomas will play in Game 2 despite missing practice Monday.
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And despite leading 87-75 with 4 minutes left, Washington led by only 5 going into the fourth quarter.
Thomas played a team-high 44:33 and scored 53 points, including 24 in the second half and nine in the extra session.
Morris hit a free throw after the injury but did not return to the floor after that. Everything for the Boston Celtics on Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time). He has had at least 12 points, five rebounds and five assists in a career-high three straight playoff games.
Washington, and Wall in particular, had been the aggressor for a large portion of the game and led by as many as 14 points during the third quarter. And seconds later, Porter landed hard on his right wrist and elbow, but remained in the game. The shooters must have been seeing the rim as even bigger than the newly-formed gap in Isaiah Thomas's teeth.
"There was no way I couldn't play on her birthday".
The game turned into a shootout between Wall and Thomas in the fourth quarter.
Kelly Oubre Jr. sank a 3-pointer to make it 117-114 at the 3:55 mark of overtime, only to have Horford make a cutting finger roll 18 seconds later. Following a defensive stop, Terry Rozier drained a three with 1:38 left to tie the game again, 110-110.
He acknowledged that while experience "is a talking point" when comparing the rosters of the two teams, "there's a lot of power in having some naivete, too".
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