TD Garden gave a prolonged standing ovation to former Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas while he was shown on the Jumbotron between the first and second quarters of Friday’s 129-116 win over the Miami Heat.
“Outside of the fact I couldn't hear in the timeout, I thought it was a great gesture to have IT back,” Joe Mazzulla praised postgame. “He’s done so much for the city and really for the organization… it just says a lot about him, and he sets an example that yes, it’s about winning, but when you’re a high-character guy, people appreciate you and you’re able to leave the place a little better than you found it.”
Thomas remains beloved by the Celtics like few others. He’s truly one of a kind. The former 60th overall pick played just two and a half seasons in Boston, yet he’s treated like his jersey is hanging in the rafters along with some of the franchise’s other greats.
His 2016-17 season captivated fans all over the nation and earned him a top-five finish in MVP voting. Thomas’s inspiring season is largely remembered for his fourth-quarter heroics. He nearly averaged 10 points per game in the final frame alone -- impressive stuff.
The Celtics set a fourth-quarter record with the King of the Fourth sitting courtside
On the night that Boston celebrated Thomas’s 52-point outburst against the Heat in December of 2016, this year’s Celtics team did their best to pay homage to Thomas in the most fitting way -- by lighting Miami ablaze during the final 12 minutes.
Not only was the offense good, but it was record-setting levels of good. No team in NBA history has made as many threes in a fourth quarter as the Celtics did tonight, with 10. They blew a game that was a dogfight for the first 36 minutes wide open.
All 10 Threes from the Celtics Record Breaking 4th Quarter vs the Heat pic.twitter.com/QCo9kXqObW
— Ian Inangelo (@iinangelo) December 20, 2025
Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Anfernee Simons, Sam Hauser, and Hugo Gonzalez all connected from long range to help the Cs pull away. Hauser, in particular, got it going. He made four of his five triples on the night in the final frame. It was a much-needed outburst from a player who has struggled so greatly in recent weeks.
Over Hauser's last five games, he had made just nine of his last 30 attempts from distance, with all 10 of his most recent being misses.
Honestly, the entire Celtics team was in the same boat. As a unit, they’d only shot 27.3% from deep in their previous two games, which both ended in losses.
With how Boston finished this one, hopefully, they can carry their hot shooting into Saturday’s game up in Toronto against the Raptors.