Thomas makes the most of limited opportunities, playing time

The ex-Celtic only played 11 minutes, but like we saw in Boston, his limited time with Charlotte on Wednesday was put to good use. The Hornets lost by 14, but were plus-5 with Thomas on the floor.

When he played for the Boston Celtics, Isaiah Thomas was known for his fourth-quarter heroics; King of the Fourth, we used to call him.

Obviously, a lot has changed for the 33-year-old since then, most of which - at least when it comes to basketball - has not been for the better.

But when he stepped on the floor in the third quarter of Boston’s 115-101 win against Thomas’ team of the day, Charlotte, Thomas didn’t look like the dominant scorer Celtics fans knew and to this day, still love.

But before he went back to the bench, a Charlotte team that seemed one stretch away from being blown out, was within single digits and charging ahead.

Thomas only had five points, but the Hornets had outscored the Celtics by five points when he was on the floor.

He’s with the Hornets on a 10-day contract that has just a couple of days remaining.

So in many ways, what we saw on Wednesday was Thomas essentially in the fourth quarter of his time in Charlotte, doing what he has done so often which is to make the most of the opportunity he’s given.

“I’ve been through a lot; I’ve seen a lot,” Thomas told reporters earlier this week.

Fans remember all too well the two-time All-Star delivering so many impressive performances under unimaginable circumstances.

We talk in sports all the time about how athletes go about handling immense pressure.

But what about immense pain?

No, not the kind that comes from a bad fall or a twisted ankle.

We’re talking about the kind that comes from losing a loved one in the playoffs like Thomas did when his sister died in a car crash just days before the start of Boston’s postseason run in 2017 as the top-seed in the East.

Isaiah Thomas, observing a moment of silence following the death of his sister, Chyna Thomas, on April 15, 2017.

Boston lost Game 1 of their series against Chicago, but Thomas, despite playing with a heavy heart, still scored 33 points.

His sister Chyna’s birthday would have been a couple of weeks later on May 2, 2017, and it coincided with a Game 2 matchup against Washington.

It was indeed an emotionally draining day for Thomas, who channeled that pain into a performance for the ages by scoring 53 points in a Celtics win which included a number of big shots down the stretch.

Boston has a new King of the Fourth quarter now in Jayson Tatum, who scored 16 of his game-high 44 points in the fourth on Wednesday which included a dagger 3-pointer with just over 10 minutes to play that put Boston ahead 96-78.

Tatum’s late-game performance and overall play have been as much about opportunity as ability.

There was a time when Thomas had both in ample supply.

Those days are gone and aren’t likely to come back anytime soon, if ever.

But in the brief amount of time he was on the floor on Wednesday, Thomas displayed brief flickers of the greatness we had seen in him during his time as a Celtic, moments he hopes to get more opportunities to display with Charlotte or another NBA team.

“I go into everything with no expectations,” Thomas said. “Hopefully they see the impact I make every day, being in here. I try to worry about the things I can control and that’s being a leader and the way I can help in this locker room, and go from there.”

STARS

Jayson Tatum: Once again, Top-5 Tatum was in the building. The Hornets made the game mildly interesting in the third quarter by taking a brief lead. But that brief lead seemed to be just the spark needed for Tatum to go into full-blown takeover mode as he scored 16 of his game-high 44 points in the fourth quarter as Boston pulled away for its 15th win in the last 17 games.

STUDS

P.J. Washington: The one Charlotte player Boston had problems defending all game, Washington finished with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field.

Jaylen Brown: This was not one of JB’s better games. But to his credit, he stepped his game up when it became an up-for-grabs affair in the third quarter. That is when Brown scored seven of his 15 points, which include five straight.

DUDS

Miles Bridges: He had about 90 seconds of really good, high-impact basketball for the Hornets. But other than that period of time in the third quarter, Bridges provided very little at either end of the floor for Charlotte as he tallied 15 points on 4-for-12 shooting with five rebounds