Welcome to Cleveland, Isaiah Thomas.
After missing the first 36 games of the 2017-18 NBA season, Thomas finally made his much-anticipated Cleveland Cavaliers debut Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, and he did not disappoint the crowd at Quicken Loans Arena.
First, the Cavs faithful gave their star point guard a rousing ovation when he entered the game midway through the first quarter.
After missing his first two shots from 3-point distance, Thomas drilled a pull-up jumper from midrange to score his first points as a Cavalier.
What he did next will look familiar to Boston Celtics fans. Thomas beat Shabazz Napier off the bounce, took a hit and finished at the rim for a nifty and-1.
But you know IT wasn’t going to head back to the bench without dialing it up from distance. The star guard splashed his first triple of the season early in the second quarter.
Then Thomas was hit with a technical foul for jawing at an official shortly before halftime.
He continued to put on a show in the second half, as he hit Dwyane Wade with a sick pass for a fourth-quarter layup.
“The King in the Fouth” finished his night by drilling a 24-foot jumper to cap a 10-0 run by the Cavs bench.
Same old IT.
He finished with 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting in 19 minutes. He also added three assists.
