Isaiah Thomas lets opportunity slip away against Mavericks
In order to be an effective playoff team in the NBA, you need to show the ability to close good teams out and execute down the stretch.
On Wednesday night against the Mavericks, Isaiah Thomas and the Celtics demonstrated that they still have some work to do on both fronts.
It was Thomas who tried to play hero for Boston in the final minute of the loss after the Celtics had already squandered a 10-point lead to a gritty Dallas squad.
The fact that the Celtics even had a chance in the game’s closing seconds was a tribute to the team’s fight. Dallas led by seven points with 30 seconds remaining in the affair, but a Jae Crowder 3-point shot and a steal allowed Boston to cut the deficit to two.
After a pair of missed free throws from Raymond Felton with 16 seconds left, Avery Bradley corralled the rebound and sent the ball to Thomas in the open court. The undersized point guard zoomed up the court at full speed in hopes of catching an unorganized Maverick defense on a fast break, but the move backfired. Thomas got sloppy with his dribbling upon facing a Mavericks defender and lost his handle on the ball to a trailing Felton.
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After the game, Thomas took responsibility for the miscue.
“That was a mistake of mine,’’ Thomas said. “[Felton] gambled at the beginning [of the play], so I felt like I had some room to work. I should have just slowed it down a little bit, but I had Devin Harris on his heels as well. So I’ve just got to be conscious of that and learn from that mistake.’’
Brad Stevens acknowledged he would have liked to have seen a better decision from Thomas, but failed to cast blame on the point guard for the team’s 18-point blown lead.
“That was certainly a play that Isaiah would like to have back, but that wasn’t what lost us the game,’’ Stevens said. “I thought that we had too many spurts of not-urgent-enough play and that probably hurt us more.’’
The lack of poise showed by Thomas on Boston’s final chance to tie the game was representative of the team’s overall fourth quarter play. A veteran Mavericks team made a 20-6 run to take the lead midway through the frame while the hosts failed to hold their ground.
Instead, the young Celtics responded late by rushing through their offense, missing a couple layups and forcing up shots, including an ill-advised 3-point attempt from Thomas with 34 seconds left that dug Boston deeper into a hole it couldn’t climb out of.
“I think you’ve just got to keep your foot on the pedal, man,’’ Thomas said of the team’s late-game issues. “You’ve just got to play the same way. It’s tough though, because some shots don’t go down, and then they hit some shots, and you’re thinking you’ve got to be in panic mode, but the best teams just stay the course and play the same way for the most part and go from there.’’
With plenty of more tight games looming in an improved Eastern Conference this year, the Celtics will need to learn to keep their composure if they want to become a team that’s capable of making some noise.
Photos: The greatest Boston Celtics of all-time
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