It is as if once the final 12 minutes of a ballgame begins to wind down, Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas morphs into a certified assassin. Since his return from a groin injury on December 16, Thomas has emerged as the NBA’s king of the fourth quarter, piping in points at an unmatched rate on a nightly basis as soon as the 36-minute mark has been eclipsed.
On Monday night against the Charlotte Hornets, Thomas carried the Celtics to a crucial victory over an Eastern Conference foe vying for playoff position with a surreal showing in the fourth period.