Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas played in Sunday night’s Eastern Conference playoff opener a day after the death of his sister, but the superstar was clearly feeling the emotion prior to tip-off.
TNT cameras showed an emotional Thomas sitting on the sidelines during the walkthrough, consoled by teammate Avery Bradley, as he tried to prepare for a game a day after his sister died in a traffic accident.
An emotional scene in Boston as Isaiah Thomas will try to play in Game 1 vs. the Bulls pic.twitter.com/SwGSsYZjvN
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) April 16, 2017
Celtics coach Brad Stevens said before the game that Thomas planned to play, but that he was obviously struggling and the decision would be left to him.
Stevens believes Isaiah Thomas' intention is to play, but comments, "He's struggling." Coach is encouraging IT to do what's right for him.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 16, 2017
Thomas played through the contest and looked sharp, scoring a team-high 33 points, although his Celtics lost 106-102. Being down 1-0 in the series probably isn’t too high on his list of priorities right now as he is trying to cope with a tragedy.
