IT can only sit and watch when Cavs make run

Bench time has been excruciating for Isaiah Thomas this season, especially when the other team goes on a run.

So it didn’t help last night that when the Celtics point guard began the second quarter on the bench, Cleveland kicked out with the run that most decided the game — a 22-4 burst over the first 5:17 of the period in the Cavaliers’ eventual 114-91 win at the Garden.

Thomas, who has spoken out in the past about how he is deployed by Brad Stevens, contained himself this time.

When asked if he requested to get back into the game, Thomas said, “Maybe I need to do that but, I mean, I trust Brad and whatever decisions he makes. I try to let him coach and I just try to play to the best of my ability. That did hurt us, that run that they went on to start the second. They didn’t look back after that.

“I trust my teammates, I have confidence in those guys to go out there and play well,” Thomas added. “They just gotta do it and they will. Tonight was a tough one. I guess it’s been a trend lately but we’ll figure it out.”

Said Stevens: “He had played the whole first. I didn’t want to play him the whole first, but in retrospect those runs are killers. But they went on runs on every group, and they went on a run right out of the gate on our first group in the first quarter. Second quarter was a bigger run. As you look at it, that moment in time certainly didn’t help us by any means, because we were playing uphill.”

Jae plays in pain

Jae Crowder spent the most time guarding LeBron James, which only made the experience more painful for the Celtics forward, who admits that his sore, swollen left elbow isn’t getting better.

“It’s very sore,” said Crowder, who scored 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting. “It was workable, a little weird, but workable.”

Crowder said he plans to play tonight in Atlanta.

Avery impresses Lue

Back when Ty Lue was still an up-and-coming assistant on Doc Rivers’ Celtics coaching staff, one of his young projects was Avery Bradley.

Few are prouder of what the Celtics guard has since accomplished.

“We had a great relationship,” the Cavaliers coach said before the game.

“That was like my guy who I used to work with. Seeing him progress as a player from a midrange shooter to a 3-point shooter, to be able to come off screens and shoot the basketball and be a ballhandler, each year he’s improved his game,” Lue said. “Moving to the 2-guard spot was very good for him, playing off the ball. And he’s one of the best on-the-ball defenders I’ve seen in this league.”

Honor for Horford

Al Horford was given the Red Auerbach Award before the game. From the perspective of Thomas’ season, it’s easy to see why.

“Certainly helps,” Stevens said of the impact Horford’s playmaking has had on Thomas. “What Isaiah has done since he’s been in Boston is remarkable, and he has made those around him better, but also vice versa. The guys around him have really complemented his game well, and you add a person like Al that is such a threat off pick and roll, and such a good passer and playmaker, it just helps.

Correction: If Thomas picks up his 16th technical foul in the final game of the season, the usual onegame suspension would be waived, according to the NBA, though Thomas would be subject to a fine.