Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas has a fresh batch of motivation after missing out on a starting spot with the Eastern Conference All-Star team when he lost a tie-breaker to the Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan.
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving and DeRozan earned the starting spots in the East backcourt after emerging in a vote that combined balloting by fans, media and current players.
Irving dominated the fan voting, which accounted for 50 percent of a player’s total, and cemented his spot by winning the player vote. Thomas won the media vote and finished tied with DeRozan in the overall point tally.