NBA: Thomas misses Celtics practice for dentist visit
Isaiah Thomas #4 of the Boston Celtics reacts during the second quarter of Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Washington Wizards at TD Garden on April 30, 2017, in Boston, Massachusetts. Thomas lost his front tooth after colliding with Otto Porter Jr. #22. AFP
WASHINGTON, United States — Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas missed practice Monday for a trip to the dentist but will play Tuesday against Washington in game two of a second-round NBA playoff series.
Thomas scored 33 points and passed out nine assists to spark Boston’s 123-111 victory over the visiting Wizards in Sunday’s opener of their best-of-seven matchup.
His heroics came a day after attending his sister’s funeral and despite having a left front tooth knocked out of his mouth in the first quarter when struck by an elbow from Washington’s Otto Porter.
READ: NBA: Thomas ignores heartache, lost tooth to lead Boston win
“I’ve taken a thousand hits like that and my tooth never came out,” Thomas said after the game. “I always said pain is temporary. We’ll worry about it when the time comes.”
Thomas was at the dentist Monday while his teammates practiced.
“He’s finishing up the dental work that he has had,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “It’s pretty significant as you can imagine.”
Thomas will be back in the lineup for Boston on Tuesday and injured Wizards forward Markieff Morris vows he will play as well, although he missed practice as well after spraining his left ankle Sunday when he landed on the foot of Celtics center Al Horford.
“I’m playing tomorrow. It’s final,” said Morris, who sat on the bench receiving treatments as his teammates practiced.
Wizards coach Scott Brooks said reserve center Ian Mahinmi, out with a calf injury, will not return before game three Friday. Brooks said reserve big man Jason Smith will see more playing time despite his own calf issues.
“We just got to do a better job of making things difficult for these guys. They can make shots. They’ve got guys that can score the ball,” Wizards guard John Wall said. “Al Horford had a heck of a game. He’s basically their point guard when we trapped Isaiah — he gave the ball to Al and he did a great job finding teammates, making plays down the stretch. Even when we made runs, those guys made a barrage of threes.”
Horford scored 21 points and made a career playoff high 10 assists with nine rebounds while the Celtics went 19-of-39 from 3-point range, hitting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter.
“We gave up 19 threes, on the road,” said Wizards guard Bradley Beal. “It’s just a matter of us defending.”
The Celtics became only the eighth team in NBA playoff history to made 15 or more 3-pointers in consecutive games, sinking 16-of-39 in their first-round series clincher against Chicago.
“We have to do a better job of knowing which ones of those guys are shooters and make them put the ball on the floor,” Wall said. CBB
