Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas scored 53 points – 29 of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime – and led Boston to a 129-119 victory Tuesday night on what would’ve been his sister Chyna’s 23rd birthday. He dedicated the game, which gave the Celtics a 2-0 lead in an Eastern Conference semifinal series, to his late sister.
Chyna Thomas was killed in a single-vehicle accident on April 15, a day before the Celtics’ playoff opener. On Saturday, Thomas utilized a small break in the playoff schedule to fly home to Tacoma, Washington, to attend her funeral.
As part of Thomas’ eulogy that day, he noted how he “wanted to give up and quit” after learning of his sister’s death. He said he realized that “quitting isn’t an option. That’s the easy way out. I will keep going for my sister.”
Thomas arrived back in Boston at 4 a.m. Sunday morning and was at the arena by 10 a.m. for the Celtics’ pregame walk-through. Thomas scored 33 points in Boston’s Game 1 victory.
Information from Espn.com contributed to this report.
