After three days off, the Boston Celtics return to the court on Friday night to host the Miami Heat at TD Garden.
The Celtics will wear their City Edition jerseys tonight as they look to snap their two-game losing streak. They’ll also be honoring Isaiah Thomas as part of their “Legendary Moments” campaign.
Boston is honoring Thomas for his epic 52-point game against the Heat on Dec. 30, 2016. Thomas led the Celtics to a 117-114 win over Miami at TD Garden, pouring in a season-high 52 points on 15 of 26 shooting. He also went 9 of 13 from beyond the arc, made all 13 of his free-throw attempts and grabbed a pair of rebounds.
Thomas took over the game in the fourth quarter, setting a franchise record with 29 points in the final period and making several clutch shots to secure the win.
It was a signature performance for Thomas in the middle of the best year of his career. He averaged a career-high 28.9 points per game that season, made his second All-Star team and finished fifth in the NBA MVP voting while leading Boston to the playoffs.
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Thomas, now 36 and playing in the G League, returned to Beantown last month to receive the Basketball Lifetime Achievement Award from TD Garden’s sports museum, so the Celtics have been celebrating him a lot lately.
It’s another well-deserved honor for Thomas, who helped bridge the gap between the “Big Three” era and the current Jaylen Brown/Jayson Tatum era.
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Featured image via Brad Rempel/Imagn Images
