BOSTON -- Recognizing that he probably wasn't going to win a jump ball against a player 10 inches taller than him, Boston Celtics 5-foot-9 point guard Isaiah Thomas tried to get creative on Friday night.
When the referee tossed the third-quarter jump ball, Thomas raced in the direction he expected Brooklyn Nets 6-foot-7 rookie Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to tip it. Thomas managed to get between Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson and catch the ball on the fly.
One problem with Thomas' plan: It was illegal.
Thomas violated the NBA's jump ball rules that notes, "Neither jumper may catch the tossed or tapped ball until it touches one of the eight non-jumpers, the floor, the basket or the backboard.