Celtics Defeat Pistons as Isaiah Thomas Makes His Case for Sixth Man of The Year

            NBA fans across the nation got their first chance to see Isaiah Thomas in a Boston Celtics uniform on Wednesday night and the 5-foot-9-inch guard delivered in a huge way. Behind a season-high 34 points from their illustrious reserve, the Celtics won their first nationally televised game of the season 113-103 over the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Thomas has now posted 20 points or more in 11 of the 18 games he has played with Boston. The Celtics are 12-6 with Thomas in the lineup.

            Thomas went 10 for 17 from the floor, connecting on four of his eight treys. He made 10 of his 11 free throws and posted an otherworldly plus-35 point differential in 30 minutes of action. The Celtics’ reserves dominated their counterparts, outscoring them 73-31. Jae Crowder had 17 points with six rebounds off the bench and Kelly Olynnk added 12 points and four rebounds in a reserve role.

             Boston engineered an 18-0 run to finish the first quarter with their starters off the floor. Thomas led that scoring burst with nine points—including a 3-pointer as time expired—and also spearheaded a 19-4 run in the fourth, scoring nine points to give the Celtics a 91-74 lead that proved to be insurmountable.

Isaiah Thomas torched the Pistons with a season-best 34 points. (Duane Burleson/AP)

            Pressed on what went wrong in the third quarter that saw his team get outscored 36-27, Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy offered a simple and honest response, “Isaiah Thomas. We can’t guard him at all."

            The win puts the Celtics (36-42) in a tie with the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference standings. The Celtics own the tiebreaker—by virtue of winning the season-series three games to one—and therefore currently occupy the No. 7 seed in the East. Indiana (35-43) and Miami (35-43) remain just a game out of the playoff hunt.

            Should Wednesday’s performance give Thomas an edge in the race for the NBA’s sixth man of the year award? Based off how clutch Thomas has been, voters may have no other choice but to vote for the small-framed, explosive point guard.

            Entering the road tilt in Detroit, Thomas has averaged 9.1 minutes, 6.6 points and 1.3 assists in the fourth quarter (including his time with the Phoenix Suns). Only LeBron James has averaged more fourth quarter points (7.3). Furthermore, Thomas is shooting 46.4 percent from the floor, 44.3 percent from three and 89.3 percent on free throws in the final frame. His three-point percentage (44.3) in the fourth also rates the highest in the league. He had scored 37.7 percent of his total points in the fourth quarter this season (385 out of 1,022) entering Wednesday night, according to ESPN Boston’s Chris Forsberg. The Elias Sports Bureau notes that was the highest percentage among the 104 players that have scored at least 800 points this season.

            Thomas has ignited an improbable playoff push for the Celtics, who were predicted by countless basketball pundits to be a bottom-feeder in the NBA this year. Acquired in a trade deadline deal from the Suns, he has given the Celtics a go-to-guy in the fourth quarter—something the Celtics haven’t had since trading away franchise icon Paul Pierce in the 2013 offseason. With three more years left in his contract following this season, Thomas is here to stay in Boston. He should figure into one of the pieces in general manager Danny Ainge’s rebuilding overhaul—one that has taken much less time to assemble than anticipated, thanks in part to the fantastic play by Thomas.