Isaiah Thomas, accompanied by Celtics assistant coach Jerome Allen, returned to Boston from Tacoma, Wash., in the wee hours yesterday after attending the funeral of Chyna Thomas, the point guard’s sister who died in an April 15 car crash.
Thomas spoke at the funeral, recounting how the last 15 days have been the most difficult of his life. He also said that he briefly felt the urge to “give up,” but quickly realized stepping away from the game and his team wasn’t an option. He has dedicated his life and career to Chyna’s memory.
Yesterday, that meant scoring 31 of his game-high 33 points over the first three quarters of the C’s 123-111 win against the Washington Wizards in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.