Isaiah Thomas knew Monday night’s game against the Washington Wizards would be one of the most important of his career, so he prepared accordingly. What better way to motivate yourself than watching one of the best Game 7s in franchise history?
After the Boston Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 115-105 win, Thomas revealed that he spent his night on Sunday watching highlights from Game 7 of the 2008 Eastern Conference semis, when LeBron James and Paul Pierce had a duel for the ages.
Celtics' Isaiah Thomas on his game 7 prep: "All night last night I watched 2008 Paul Pierce versus LeBron… Two superstars going at it." pic.twitter.com/EW2H90itdu
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 16, 2017
James and Pierce went back and forth for 48 minutes in that game. LeBron finished with 45 points compared to Pierce’s 41, but the Celtics moved on with a 97-92 victory. They later went on to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
On Monday, Thomas scored a team-high 29 points. He has carried the Celtics all season, but it was actually Kelly Olynyk who got the awesome Twitter meme treatment after he stepped up with 26 points off the bench.
Thomas is one of the best fourth-quarter players in the NBA today. Don’t be surprised if he and LeBron end up in the same type of battle we saw from James and Pierce nine years ago.
