Boston Celtics Beat Detroit Pistons Behind 41 Point Performance by Isaiah Thomas

While the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors have cooled down a bit in the NBA Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics have stepped up their game. On January 30th, the Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons 113-109 for their fourth straight win, improving to 30-18 on the season. Boston has passed Toronto (29-19) for the Atlantic Division lead, and was just 2 ½ games behind Cleveland In the overall Eastern Conference standings.

A big part of Boston’s success this season has been the play of point guard Isaiah Thomas. Thomas scored 41 points in the win over the Pistons, including hitting all 15 of the free throws he took, and had eight assists. Thomas averaged almost 33 point per game in 14 games in January, which was even better than his outstanding December. He averaged 30.3 points that month, including a huge 52 point game against Miami on December 30th. He’s been especially lethal in the fourth quarters of games; he scored 24 in the final stanza against Detroit. Thomas is now averaging 29.4 points per game for the season, second only to Michael Westbrook’s 30.8. Not bad for a guy who is listed as 5’9’’ tall and has to deal with all those giants.