BOSTON – Isaiah Thomas was exactly where he loves to be in the final minute of play – in the paint.
Only problem?
There were a few – quite a few actually – Milwaukee Bucks players just itching to swat his shot three or four rows deep.
But Thomas had a plan.
Drive into the lane and kick it to Jae Crowder.
But there was a problem … he had no idea if Crowder would be open because after he saw him in the corner, Milwaukee’s defense collapsed on Thomas and left him no choice but to throw a blind pass into the corner hoping Crowder didn’t deviate too far from where he saw him prior to that side of the floor going totally dark for the 5-foot-9 Thomas in a sea of near 7-footers.
Fortunately for Thomas and the Celtics, Crowder stayed put and delivered one of the biggest shots of the night as Boston held on for a 112-107 win over the Bucks.
Boston Celtics
Boston (34-25) has now won nine straight at home with all five starters scoring in double figures on Thursday.
But after the game, all the talk was about the Thomas pass to Crowder with less than a minute to play that ended with a Crowder 3-pointer to put the Celtics ahead 109-102 with 50.6 seconds to play.
It was fitting that eventually that made basket would be the game-winner.
“When I threw it, I couldn’t see him (any) more,” Thomas said. “I’m glad he stayed in that corner. I knew that was going to be my bail-out pass.”
Said head coach Brad Stevens: “That one pass was unbelievable.”
It was such an unexpected, out of nowhere kind of pass that at least one Celtic (jokingly) said he wasn't buying Thomas planning in advance to make that pass.
“I think he just threw it up man,” quipped Celtics guard Avery Bradley. “Isaiah is so small he just throw it up. He made a great play and Jae was able to finish it.”
But Crowder said he and Thomas made eye contact shortly before the pass came his way.
“I didn’t know if he was going to find a way to get it to me," Crowder said. "But yeah for sure before the defender came over it was a hell of a pass by him.”
And while it certainly was an integral part of Boston coming away with the win, it in many ways was symbolic in how this team continues to find ways to be successful despite obstacles and various hurdles impeding their progress.
“That play right there describes our team,” Bradley said. “We always knew we were going to win the game. We do whatever it takes to win the game and we all want to play for each other. Isaiah could have easily threw something up, but he went in to make a play for Jae and I am just happy the way we played tonight. They both played very well and we just have to keep it going as a team.”