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Isaiah Thomas closed out 2016 with a career-high 52 points and enters 2017 as an elite point guard option in FanDuel NBA leagues.
The Boston Celtics essentially threw out the playbook in the fourth quarter Friday night, allowing Isaiah Thomas to create his own shot opportunities.
After scoring 23 points in the first three quarters against Miami, Thomas would go on to set a Boston franchise record in the same arena littered with championship banners and retired jersey numbers of legendary players.
The scoring binge from Thomas began just 55 seconds into the fourth quarter, as his 3-pointer from 25 feet out ignited an unprecedented late-game run.
Thomas closed out the fourth quarter by connecting on 9-of-12 attempts from the field, including 6-of-9 from beyond the arc, and sank each of his five free throw attempts.
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The 29-point effort from Thomas in the final period not only set a franchise record for fourth-quarter scoring, but is the second most in league history, behind only Wilt Chamberlain, as he scored 31 during his historic 100-point outing against the Knicks.
Boston clinched a 117-114 victory behind perhaps the most impressive shot of the evening from Thomas, as he launched a shot from 30-feet out as the shot clock was about to expire.
https://twitter.com/celtics/status/815026919934554113
Thomas matched a Celtics’ record by hitting nine 3-pointers in the contest, as he become the sixth player to score 50 or more points in a game this season.
Once the night concluded, Thomas moved past Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan into fifth place among scorers in the league, with his 27.7 points per game the most among players in the Eastern Conference.
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The scoring run from Thomas was no fluke, as he ranks second in the NBA in both fourth-quarter points per game (9.3) and crunch-time points, with 98.
In crunch-time play, Thomas is an even more dangerous shooter, connecting on 48.1 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Really, any time Thomas is on the floor, he is a threat to score. Thomas has been held to less than 20 points just one time this season, an 18-point outing against Golden State, and has poured in 20 or more points in 18 consecutive games, the longest streak in the league this year.
A groin injury forced Thomas to miss four consecutive games in early December, but ever since his return, he has been even more dominant, pouring in 31.8 points a night in his last nine appearances.
Any FanDuel NBA roster can benefit from the explosive scoring of Thomas, and his impact once the fourth quarter starts, he can’t be stopped.