Thomas scores 53 as Boston up 2-0; Golden State wins
Boston up 2-0; Golden State takes opener
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Isaiah Thomas scored a careerhigh 53 points and dedicated the effort to his late sister as the Boston Celtics defeated the Washington Wizards 129-119 in a secondround NBA playoff game Tuesday.
The 5-foot-9 Thomas scored 20 points in the fourth quarter and nine more in a game-closing 15-2 over-time run that gave the host Celtics a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series, which shifts to Washington for game three on Thursday.
Thomas attended his sister Chyna's funeral Saturday after she died in a car accident and has also had to overcome having had a tooth knocked out in a game-one victory Sunday.
''My sister, everything I do is for her, and she's watching over me,'' Thomas said.
On what would have been his sister's 23rd birthday, Thomas connected on 18-of-33 shots from the floor and 12of-13 from the free throw line.
''The least I can do is go out there and play for her,'' Thomas said. ''There was no way I couldn't play on her birthday. I wanted to win for her.''
He did more than that, eclipsing his former career-best 52 points in a regular-season victory over Miami this season and his former playoff best of 42 last year against Atlanta.
In the Western Conference, NBA season wins leader Golden State beat visiting Utah, 106-94, in the opener of their second-round series.
Celtics center Al Horford contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds while Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley each added 14 points for Boston.
But the only Celtics player to ever score more points in a playoff game was John Havlicek, who struck for 54 in 1973.
''It's nice (for) your name to be in Celtics' history with all the great players, but until you win one of them championships you can't call yourself a great player,'' Thomas said.
Thomas spent six hours with a dentist on Monday to repair his teeth and played with a custom-made dental guard.
WARRIORS OUTPLAY JAZZ In Oakland, California, Stephen Curry scored 22 points while Draymond Green and Kevin Durant each added 17 points and Klay Thompson had 15 as the Warriors showed no rust from a week off after a first-round sweep.
''Seven days can get a little bit tough,'' Green said. ''We were a little beat up. It was good we got our guys healed up. We came out and showed good rhythm.''
The Warriors scored the first nine points and would surge ahead 58-46 at half-time. Curry scored 16 first-half points while Durant and Thompson each added 10.
BaliPure hopes to extend its winning run to three games when it faces defending champion Pocari Sweat today while the Alyssa Valdez-led Creamline tries to rebound from a shocking opening day defeat in the Premier Volleyball League women’s tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.
The Water Defenders are off to a perfect 2-0 start with victories over Air Force and Power Smashers, and a win over the Lady Warriors in their 6 p.m. duel would cement their hold of the top spot.
But focus is also on the Creamline Cool Smashers, who take on the dangerous Air Force Lady Jet Spikers at 4 p.m.
The Cool Smashers hope to recover from a 23-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-21 defeat over Perlas last Sunday.
But it won’t be easy as Air Force is coming off a 26-24, 25-21, 23-25, 19-25, 15-13 win over a stubborn Perlas side.