Twelve hours after the cross-country flight that carried him from his native Tacoma, Washington, had landed, a heavy-lidded Isaiah Thomas sat in front of a microphone to answer questions.
He arrived back in Boston at 4 a.m. after attending his 22-year-old sister’s funeral Saturday, the one day he had off between the Celtics’ Game 6 win in Chicago and Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Washington Wizards. And because “it’s the playoffs,” Thomas said, and basketball is a large part of what is holding him together at the moment, he showed up at TD Garden at his usual time before afternoon games and went through his usual warmup routine.
What followed was more of Thomas’s new usual.
The Celtics point guard scored a game-high 33 points, including five three pointers, to help Boston to a 123-111 win over Washington and got his left front tooth knocked out in the process. It was his third 33-point game of these playoffs, made all the more impressive considering Thomas left the court for a few minutes in the first quarter to have the tooth, which he had picked up off the court, put back in his mouth by the Celtics’ medical staff.
It was a reminder of Thomas’s ability to persevere, as if anyone needed another one: He hit back-to-back 3-pointers right after losing the tooth.
Still, Thomas’s missing tooth was less serious adversity and more a humorous gaffe played for a laugh in postgame news conferences. Talking about his new smile was the only time an exhausted Thomas flashed one from the podium – otherwise, the Celtics struck a somber tone discussing their win.
Boston Coach Brad Stevens called the game “just another chapter” of his point guard’s awesome ability to play top-quality basketball in the face of a family tragedy.
“I’ve said it before,” Stevens said. “I’ve just been in continual amazement of the last couple of weeks with his ability to function on the basketball court and excel on the basketball court.”
“Excel” doesn’t adequately paint a picture of how Thomas played Sunday. He cut through a rotating cast of defenders, including John Wall, Bradley Beal and Kelly Oubre Jr., to connect on 11 of 23 attempts from the field. He made 6 of 7 attempts from the foul line. And he did so on a few hours of sleep.
“I was trying to get as much sleep as I can on the flight,” Thomas said slowly, as if speaking was causing him some pain, “and then when I got home this morning. I mean it’s tough, but it’s the playoffs. There’s no excuse. I decided to play, and I just tried to give it all I got for my team, and we came out with a win.”
Thomas then lowered his eyelids and rested his chin in his hand to listen as center Al Horford spoke next to him on the podium.
“It was unreal,” Horford said of Thomas’ game. “Just everything that is going on for him off the court and for him to still be able to function at this level. Strong character. His will is very impressive. I just – I don’t know if I would have been able to handle it in that way. And he’s able to come in here and say ‘no excuses,’ but he has a perfectly good excuse. And he still comes out, he’s focused, and it was like he flew back with us from Chicago yesterday. He didn’t linger at all, and that just – it’s a credit to him and his way to get prepared for the game.”
As for his injury, Thomas doesn’t quite understand how an errant elbow from Otto Porter Jr. knocked out a tooth. He said he hopes doctors will be able to patch him up soon. Then he will be back on the court, as usual.
“I’ve taken a thousand hits like that, and my tooth never came out,” Thomas said. “I’ve always said pain is temporary.”