Isaiah Thomas was absolutely incredible on Tuesday evening, scoring 53 points and leading the Boston Celtics to an overtime victory in Game 2. As you might expect, the entire NBA world was utterly blown away by Thomas and his heroics in the game, but the diminutive All-Star guard wasn’t nearly done.
Thomas took to the podium in the aftermath of the game and dedicated his “instant classic” performance to his recently fallen sister, Chyna, whose 23rd birthday was on Tuesday.
Celtics' Isaiah Thomas on his 53 points: "Today is my sister's birthday. She would have been 23 today. The least I could do is play for her" pic.twitter.com/SiCQsM1xZe
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 3, 2017
"The only thing about it is, once i leave this gym, I hit reality and she's not here." — Isaiah Thomas on focus as a relief from grief.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 3, 2017
That type of sentiment is enough to generate emotion for just about anyone, but the showing from Thomas was made even more impressive by the fact that he spent hours upon hours suffering through dental surgery over the last two days.
Isaiah Thomas says he was at the hospital for surgery for six hours yesterday and another four to five hours today.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 3, 2017
Thomas finished with 29 of his 53 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and the Celtics needed every bit of his contribution in order to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. With that said, even basketball on the grandest stage can seem ancillary when compared to the real life situations that Thomas has been forced to deal with in recent days. It really is a wonder that he is even playing, much less dominating in legendary fashion.
Isaiah Thomas is dealing with unimaginable off-court circumstances and continues to be absolutely incredible on the floor. Tip of the cap to him for doing what almost no one could do.
