BOSTON – Isaiah Thomas is not one to back down from top-notch competition.
He brings his A-game against the NBA’s A-list stars, and Wednesday night was a perfect example of that when he went toe-to-toe against Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers.
The result was a battle for the ages.
Paul, who will play in his ninth consecutive All-Star Game this Sunday, erupted for 35 points, 13 assists and five rebounds.
Yet, he was remarkably outplayed by his counterpart.
Thomas, a first-time All-Star selection, responded with 36 points, 11 assists and four rebounds, and more importantly came through in the clutch. With the C’s down four points with less than a minute to go in regulation, he hit two shots that sent the game into overtime, before his C’s walked away with a 139-134 win.
That sounds like an All-Star Game score with two All-Star performances, but this was only a preview of the point guard matchup we’ll see again Sunday night in Toronto.
Thomas said after the game that facing off against superstar players brings out the best in him, and he certainly backed that up with his play on Wednesday.
“[Paul] is one of the best guards in the world, and you always want to play against the best players in the world,” said Thomas, who had arguably the best performance of his NBA career. “As a competitor you should want that. I’m all for challenges; I’m all for going against anybody.”
Celtics coach Brad Stevens said the two provided a show that “was pretty special to watch,” though he obviously would have preferred if it was more of a one-sided matchup in favor of Boston.
“Chris Paul was so good, he made so many great plays that [we didn’t have] an answer for him,” said Stevens. “He’s so good at coming off that screen and finding either their open guy on the perimeter or the roller, that we were forced into some defenses that aren’t ideal.”
Defense was hard to come by for the C’s who surrendered their highest point total of the season. Fortunately, Boston’s offense came through with its top performance of the season to fill the void on the defensive end.
Leading the charge from start to finish was Thomas, who scored at least nine points in three separate quarters.
What was remarkable about his offensive output was the way that he went about scoring the ball. Thomas tenaciously attacked the basket all night long, which is nothing new for him, but he did so successfully against one of top rim protectors in the league, 6-foot-11 center DeAndre Jordan.
“[Jordan is] arguably the best defensive big in the league,” said Thomas, who shot 12-of-21 from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line. “He’s long, athletic, and you’ve gotta go in there strong or it’s going to be a block party. He got me a couple of times, but knowing me, I’m just going to continue to go at him and continue try to have different types of finishes around him and keep him guessing.”
For a player that’s three inches shy of 6-feet, Thomas’ ability to finish at the rim is nothing shy of extraordinary.
Teammate Jared Sullinger was asked after the game if he’s ever seen someone so small have such great finishing ability. The big man thought long and hard before a comical answer came to mind.
“Maybe when I was about three years old, I was about his size playing on a Fisher Price court,” joked Sully. “I was finishing pretty well back then, so yeah, I’ve seen somebody his size finish like that.”
Sullinger then added on a serious note, “In all honesty it is pretty incredible how he finishes over 7-footers the way he does. He’s fearless, man… definitely fearless down there.”
Former Celtics coach Doc Rivers has admired Thomas’ fearlessness from afar, and got a hearty taste of it Wednesday night while coaching from the Clippers’ sideline.
“I’ve never seen a little guy that makes – other than Spud (Webb) maybe – that makes his living in the paint,” said Rivers. “You know, most little guys have been 3-point shooters, which he is, but you very rarely see one that gets in the paint and makes shots. And he does it consistently.”
Because of that consistency, Thomas was named to his first All-Star game this season. That’s an improbable accolade for an average-sized human being, but after seeing the way he performed against arguably the best true point guard on the planet Wednesday night, it’s easy to see why he was selected.
It’s because Thomas backs down from no one, and steps up when the competition level is at its highest.
