BOSTON -- You don't earn the "Game of Thrones"-inspired nickname The King in the Fourth by routinely sitting on the bench for the final 12 minutes of games. Alas, Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas couldn't argue with a rare quiet night on Friday.
Well, actually, he could. Even though the Celtics were up 39 heading into the final frame against the visiting (and lifeless) Orlando Magic, Thomas wanted to keep playing. But with his team in the middle of a four-game-in-five-nights stretch, Thomas accepted some rare bench time as Boston's youngest players (and their oldest, Gerald Green) capped a 128-98 triumph at TD Garden.
"It was nice. I mean, I wanted to play, really," said Thomas, who still finished with 21 points. It was his 30th consecutive game with 20 points or more, which is the second-longest streak in team history. Thomas is hunting John Havlicek's team record of 40 straight games with 20 points or more during the 1971-72 season.
"It’s good to get one of those wins," Thomas said. "We haven’t had one this season, so it’s good for our confidence."
Yes, blowout wins have been extremely rare for Boston despite the fact that they sit just a half-game behind Toronto for the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics (28-18) have seen 31 of their 46 games sit within five points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. Even the games in which they've built bigger leads, opponents often have made things interesting near the finish line.
It had been 77 days since Gino, Boston's beloved bearded dancer from an "American Bandstand" clip that rolls near the end of lopsided victories, grooved on the JumboTron at TD Garden. Friday's win was only Gino's second appearance this season.
"We haven’t had hardly any [lopsided games] either way," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "Most of our games have been one-possession, two-possession, three-possession games. It is nice, and I thought it was a good example of how you need to come out in the third quarter and play when you have a lead. I thought we played with good spirit, good purpose, and then I thought that third period allowed us to rest those guys in the fourth, and we’ve got a lot of games this week so hopefully that’s a good thing."
On a night when the Celtics played without Al Horford (groin) and Avery Bradley (Achilles), this was a chance for others to step forward. Rookie Jaylen Brown, the No. 3 pick in June's draft, has elevated to a starting role in Boston's last two games and came out extra-aggressive on Friday. Brown finished with a career-best 20 points and eight rebounds over 30 minutes.
Brown, 20, who turned down an invite for the Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star weekend, wasn't invited to participate in the league's Rising Stars Challenge, the annual rookie/sophomore showcase. Brown was asked if he took any motivation in being passed over for that game.
"You could say that. It’s all fuel to the fire, but it’s not the end of the world," Brown said. "I’ve just got to get better and continue to get better and come out and show I’m one of the best rookies."
Thomas went to bat for his rookie, pointing out how he's earned a key spot on a playoff-bound team.
"A guy that has a role -- a big role -- on a playoff team should always be selected to games like that because there’s a lot of guys that are playing on teams that aren’t even going to make the playoffs," Thomas said. "So they’re definitely going to get the opportunity and the playing time. But he has a role on this team and we will be a playoff team. And I think he should have made it."
The Celtics generated a whopping 54 points in the paint against the Magic, a monstrous number for a team that likes to play small even at full strength. There was chatter pregame about how Boston might match Orlando's size, but the Magic's defensive indifference made it a nonfactor.
Celtics center Tyler Zeller, playing for the first time since Dec. 29 because of a sinus issue that left him disoriented and unable to participate in on-court activities, scored eight points in less than five minutes after checking in late in the first quarter. He finished with 10 points in 19:34 and reveled in simply being back on the floor.
"By the second half, I started to get a little tired, a little worn down, but it was good that I got to go up and down and kind of get back in that game flow," Zeller said. "I've been running a lot, doing a lot of the bike -- a lot of those things that nobody really likes to do. Thankfully, I was able to stay in shape. My lungs actually felt really good; my legs started to get a little tired just from -- I haven’t been fighting with people, it’s just been 1-on-0. It’s completely different in the game."
The Celtics hit a bit of a low point after Tuesday's loss in Washington, a game in which the Wizards dressed in all black and dubbed it a funeral after tempers flared during recent meetings between the teams. Boston bounced back with a quality win over the Rockets on Wednesday. Thomas got selected as an All-Star reserve on Thursday, and the Celtics took care of business against an inferior opponent on Friday.
"That’s what I always tell my teammates: Don’t ever let our emotion get too high or get too low. We have to be even-keeled," Thomas said.
For one night, Thomas could joke about being worried that his fourth-quarter scoring average would take a hit from being an observer. The good news for Thomas: By sitting out the entire fourth quarter, his scoring average remains a robust 10.1 points per game in the final frame. The 5-foot-9 guard remains on pace to become the league's top fourth-quarter scorer since by-quarter tracking started two decades ago.
Even better news for Thomas: He has produced some of his biggest scoring games on the second nights of back-to-backs this season. The Celtics visit Milwaukee on Saturday night to cap a rigorous week.
"I know the thing about back-to-backs, you just have to lock in a little bit more," Thomas said. "It’s more mental than anything because you’re tired. You’re obviously tired from playing the night before. I just try to stay locked in, try to take advantage of my opportunity and make the plays my teammates need me to make. I guess it’s close to 40 [points] when I do."
