Celtics’ Thomas out for playoffs
BOSTON — Guard Isaiah Thomas will miss the rest of the playoffs because of a hip injury, further damaging — if not dooming — the Boston Celtics’ chances in the Eastern Conference finals against Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Celtics made the announcement Saturday, a day after Thomas left Game 2 at halftime. The Cavaliers already led by an NBA-record 41 points at that point, and they went on to a 130-86 victory that gave them a 2-0 lead over the top-seeded Celtics in the best-ofseven series.
The Celtics said Thomas injured the hip in March and aggravated it in Game 6 of the East semifinals against Washington. The swelling increased during the first two games against Cleveland, team doctor Brian McKeon said, and Thomas was limping on the court just before halftime Friday.
"Isaiah has worked tirelessly to manage this injury since it first occurred," McKeon said. "In order to avoid more significant long-term damage to his hip, we could no longer allow him to continue."
Thomas did not travel with the team to Cleveland for Game 3 today.
Game 2 went poorly for the Celtics, so poorly that one of coach Brad Stevens' takeaways was how well the Cavaliers' reserves played in fourth.
"At the start of the fourth quarter, they had a bunch of guys that have been in the league for a long time that were playing their butts off," Stevens said. "Kyle Korver, Channing Frye, Richard Jefferson — those guys were playing the right way up 45 freaking points. Tremendous examples for us to learn from. You play the right way all the time."
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue pulled his starters with 1:47 left in the third quarter. The score was 99-53 when LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith headed for the bench, but the reserves twice pushed the Cavs' lead to 50 in the fourth quarter.
With Cleveland leading by 38 in the third quarter, Smith mocked some Boston fans by pretending to sweep a broom across their parquet floor.
"It's hard," Celtics forward Al Horford said. "It's hard to take."
And now it must be finished without Thomas.
Thomas emerged as a star this season, averaging nearly 29 points and leading the league in fourth-quarter scoring. This despite the death of his sister on the eve of the first-round series against Chicago, an emotional blow that also took a physical toll through the cross-country travel to Washington state so he could be with his family and attend the funeral.