Amid a playoff atmosphere Monday night in Miami, Isaiah Thomas again took on the role of closer for the Boston Celtics.
Thomas scored 12 of Boston’s final 16 points as the Celtics withstood a vintage performance by Dwyane Wade to knock off the Miami Heat 100-90.
NOW THAT’S A LINEUP
Brad Stevens has been known to get creative with his lineup combinations, and he trotted out what might have been his strangest yet to begin the second quarter. The combo consisted of Thomas, Luigi Datome, Kelly Olynyk, Gerald Wallace and Jonas Jerebko, and, yeah, it was weird.
The five shared the court for just a few short minutes, but that span did included a powerful block by Wallace, who had not played at all over the Celtics’ last four games.
DATOMINATION
Let’s talk about Datome for a second. The Italian forward was a healthy DNP for six of his first eight games with the Celtics, and it appeared that his role as an end-of-the-bench-type player might extend through the end of the season.
That’s what’s made these last two days so surprising. Datome scored 10 points in 10 minutes during Sunday’s loss to the Orlando Magic, then logged 20 minutes — far surpassing his season high — against the Heat, finishing with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Datome has gone 10-for-14 from the floor and 3-of-4 from 3-point range over his last two games.
WHITESIDE’S BLINDSIDE
The Heat had to play the entire fourth quarter without Hassan Whiteside after the big man was ejected for this hit from behind on Kelly Olynyk:
Whiteside had been close to double-double territory (seven points, nine rebounds), but his frustration became apparent as the evening wore on. Olynyk, meanwhile, had his best game since returning from injury, playing 21 minutes and finishing with 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal. He had gone a combined 2-for-14 over his first two games back.
A wild fourth quarter followed Whiteside’s ejection, as Wade did everything he could to secure a win for the home team. Wade scored 15 of his game-high 34 points in the final frame, but the Celtics were able to keep the Heat at arm’s reach for the duration.
Leading that effort was Thomas, who withstood a rough fall in the paint to finish with a team-high 25 points.
Up next: The Celtics will welcome a familiar face back to Boston on Wednesday as Jeff Green and the Memphis Grizzlies visit TD Garden.
Thumbnail photo via Robert Mayer/USA TODAY Sports Images
