Usually it’s Isaiah Thomas who catches fire during the fourth quarter of Boston’s games. He did so Wednesday night, scoring 13 points during the final frame, but on this night, he had his teammates swishing alongside him.
From the 5:12 mark of the fourth to the 2:59 mark of the fourth, the Celtics strung together a 13-2 run with perfect offense. Four different players scored during the run and they combined to make all five of their field goals and both of their free throws.
Thomas led the way and sparked the run with two free throws at the 5:12 mark. Fourteen seconds later, he canned a step-back jumper in the face of Patrick Beverley that was just a half-inch away from being a 3-pointer. Thomas added in another bucket, this time via an impressive driving hook shot in the lane, at the 4:20 mark to push Boston ahead 104-98. His 6-0 spurt broke a 98-98 tie.
IT’s teammates got into the action on Boston’s next three possessions. In a span of only 52 seconds, Terry Rozier canned a 3-pointer from the right wing, Al Horford made a tough driving layup, and Jae Crowder dropped in a finger roll.
Four of Boston’s five field goals during the 13-2 run were assisted, giving an indication of just how hot the offense was at that point.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the floor, Houston could not muster up much of anything. It’s only basket during those two-plus minutes of play came on a layup from James Harden.
Boston held a 111-100 lead shortly after the final three minutes of play got underway. They pulled ahead by as many as 13 points and cruised to a 120-109 victory.
Two MVP candidates went at it Wednesday night. Boston’s candidate was far and away the better player.
Isaiah Thomas scored a game-high 38 points to propel the Celtics to a 120-109 win over the visiting Houston Rockets. He also dished out a team-best nine assists and recorded five rebounds and a steal during the game.
James Harden was not so fortunate. He scored 30 points and led the game with 12 assists, but those raw numbers don’t tell the whole story.
Thomas nearly made as many field goals (15) as Harden attempted (18). Thomas shot 55.6 percent from the field, while Harden shot just 33.3 percent. Thomas finished with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3-to-1, while Harden’s was a woeful 1.7-to-1. Thomas made double the amount of 3-pointers as Harden (four to two), all while attempting one fewer shot from long distance (11 to 10).
Oh, and the Celtics outscored the Rockets by 18 points while Thomas was on the court. How’d Houston do while Harden was on the floor? It was outscored by 16 points.
There is a debate for the MVP, a debate that surely has these two players squarely in the middle of the discussion. Wednesday night in Boston, however, there was no debate about who was the better player. Thomas blew past Harden like a rocket in that discussion.
Brad Stevens on how the Celtics played with a purpose Wednesday night.
