IT Drops 52 (29 in 4th)

January 2, 2017

It happens like this a little too often for comfort, but Mr. Fourth Quarter put his greatest final 12 minutes on the board last night. On a night when not much else worked for the Celtics, Isaiah Thomas out-scored every other player in the game with a 29-point fourth quarter that staked the Celtics to an uncomfortably narrow 117-114 win over Miami.



Included in the point guard's closing run were six 3-pointers, one three-point play, a steal, and a near block (it was called a foul) of Heat forward James Johnson. Thomas had come from the opposite side of the basket, and at the point of contact was actually over his 6-foot-9 opponent. Thomas' final total was stunning - a career-high 52 points on 15-for-26 shooting, including 9-for-13 from downtown.

Let's just say the fact he didn't have an assist can be forgiven for a night. Thomas became the fifth Celtic with a 50-plus point game, and the first since Paul Pierce. Larry Bird heads the list with four. Thomas, Pierce, Kevin McHale and Sam Jones each have one.

Though the Celtics stumbled their way to an 82-78 lead at the end of the third quarter, despite big shots by a cast of Miami role players, the competition got a little too hot for them at the start of the fourth. Johnson, Willie Reed and Josh Richardson did all of the scoring in an 11-2 Miami run over the first 2:33 of the fourth, including a Reed put-back for an 85-84 lead and a Richardson dunk that pushed the margin out to 89-84.

That's when the Celtics went to their safety valve. Thomas, who had scored the Celtics' only points during the aforementioned run, proceeded to bury three straight 3-pointers in a span of 1:53. Jaylen Brown dunked off the break, and the Celtics led, 95-89.

And so Thomas continued to work on his wild fourth quarter legacy, hitting two more 3-pointers over the next minute, his fifth three of the quarter for a 101-93 edge.

But the Miami role players continued to stick daggers, including back-to-back jumpers from Tyler Johnson, including a pull-up three that cut the Celtics lead to 101-98. Despite Thomas' work, the Celtics only led by three points, and after Thomas converted a three-point play off a high speed cut from the top of the circle, Miami responded with six straight points for a 104-104 tie, the last shot a Wayne Ellington fast break drive.
Thomas then took it in his own hands again, driving for a finger roll, following it up with a pair of free throws and, after Johnson scored again, his sixth 3-pointer of the quarter and ninth of the game, the Heat finally ran out of clock.
By the third quarter the Celtics were falling prey to more semi-obscure players, in this case, Johnson. The Heat guard scored eight of his team's 10 points during one stretch, tying the score twice on jump shots and finally pushing Miami into a 66-64 edge from 20 feet.

And he was unguarded each time.

That lead grew to 68-64 when Johnson assisted on a Hassan Whiteside dunk. The Celtics had gone three minutes without a point when Al Horford finally got in the way with a 3-pointer that cut the Miami lead to 68-67. Though Ellington answered from downtown, the Celtics had discovered a bit of rhythm, with Jae Crowder hitting a pair of threes, the latter for a 75-73 lead.

If nothing else, the Celtics were now able to hold on, with a quarter-ending three from Jonas Jerebko good for an 82-78 lead.  It seemed like an even swap. The Celtics played without the flu-ridden Avery Bradley, and Miami gave Goran Dragic the night off because of ankle trouble. Still, despite the Heat's offensively-challenged status, they had forced a 25-25 tie by the end of the first quarter.

And then it got worse, with players like Reed, Richardson and journeyman vet James Johnson making the shots that led the Heat to a 37-31 lead with 8:33 left in the half. Thomas, the only Celtic with any pop to his offense in the first half, hit his second and third 3-pointers (following a Jerebko three) to finally ignite a 7-0 run for a 45-44 lead.

Rodney McGruder, to a groaning crowd, took the lead back with a put-back, forcing a Celtics timeout. Despite the entire Celtics starting unit being back on the floor, the lack of flow continued. The Celtics finally took the lead back from the line, two from Thomas and one from Johnson for a 48-46 lead.

Ellington immediately tied the game with a 20-footer, but Thomas drove again for a two-point lead.
Next time down, he hit twice from the line for a 52-48 halftime lead.
Thomas, with 18 points, ended up the only player on either side in double figures with 18 points.