The Boston Celtics rallied back from a 21-point deficit in the third quarter on Sunday to beat Cleveland Cavaliers, and they did it without Isaiah Thomas. In fact, not having Thomas may have been the primary source of motivation that fueled the comeback.
After the Celtics came away with a 111-108 win on Avery Bradley’s 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds left, Jae Crowder said the team was bothered by all the questions about Thomas during pregame interviews.
“Isaiah helps us out a lot and we know what he does for us,” Crowder said, per Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. “But we know we’re capable of winning without him, and I think that ticked a lot of guys off, it being all about him. We had a game to play tonight.”
Thomas, of course, has been ruled out for the postseason with a hip injury. It looked like the Celtics were going to be swept when he was playing, so it seemed like a virtual guarantee that they would meet the same fate without him. Instead, they are now down 2-1 with a chance to even the series before heading back to Boston.
Thomas joined the team via FaceTime after the win, and Crowder said the message was that the Celtics are fighting for their leader.
“He was very stoked,” Crowder said. “He was happy and smiling and yelling. You know him, he was yelling and [stuff] on the phone.”
Not only has Thomas been Boston’s best player all year, he has also been the best fourth-quarter player in the NBA. It’s remarkable that the Celtics were able to beat the Cavs on the road without him in that fashion. If you ask one player, a total change in mindset had a lot to do with the surprising outcome.
