The Celtics also benefited by another strong outing from guard Isaiah Thomas who added 20 points and 8 assists. The Thunder were led in scoring by All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook who had 27 points on only 5-20 from the field. The only other player in double-figures for the Thunder was Serge Ibaka with 16 points to go along with a team …show more content…
high 10 rebounds.
This was the second straight victory for the Celtics that now stand at 5-4 on the season, good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference - Atlantic Division behind the Toronto Raptors. The team's next game in on the road against the Houston Rockets on Monday night.
While Smart has shown a bit of inconsistency on the season, he has also shown flashes of ability as indicated by Sunday's performance.
It was by far his best game since missing a couple of games due to an early season injury. If he can get to a point where he is performing a bit more consistent at a higher level, the Celtics could prove to be a handful, especially in a division where several teams have been struggling.
His back-court mate Isaiah Thomas is currently leading the team in both scoring and assists at 20.8 and 6.3, respectively. Thomas came over to the Celtic last year in a mid-season trade with the Phoenix Suns. Since his arrival, he has assumed the role as team leader and shown remarkable consistency, which has certainly exceeded any expectations the Celtics had when they gave up Marcus Thornton and a 2016 first-round pick to get him.
With the combination of Smart and Thomas in the back-court, the Celtics look to have enhanced the future of a young basketball team. This is only Smart's second season in the league. He was drafted out of Oklahoma State in the first round with the sixth pick by these same Celtics. In his final season with the Cowboys, he was named Big-12 Player of the Year while also being chosen as a Consensus second-team All-American for 2013. In his first season with the Celtics, he average 7.8 PPG over 27 minutes a game. This season, he has elevated his game, averaging 12.5 PPG in just under 31 minutes per
game.
Thomas (no relation to the Hall of Fame guard Isiah Thomas) played his college ball with the Washington Huskies. He was drafted by the Sacramento Kings with the 60th overall pick in the second round of the 2011 draft. His best season with the Kings was 2013-14 when he averaged just over 20 PPG. He was traded to the Suns in July of 2014 before being sent on to the Celtics after playing only 48 games and averaging 15.2 points and 26 minutes per game.
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