LOS ANGELES—Boston star Isaiah Thomas showcased more than his scoring talents Tuesday, adding a career-high 15 assists to go with 29 points in the Celtics 115-104 NBA victory over the Utah Jazz.
Thomas, who scored 52 points without an assist in the Celtics’ victory over the Miami Heat on Friday, mixed things up against the Jazz and his versatility helped Boston notch a third straight home win for the first time this season.
Thomas said he didn’t make a conscious effort to up his assists. And he certainly didn’t take any flak from his teammates after failing to deliver one decisive pass to another scorer against Miami.
“If they would’ve said something, then I would’ve really tried to not score and get assists,” he said. “But after the last game I was upset and they were like, ‘You scored 52, who cares about your assists!’
“Tonight I didn’t really emphasize passing like that. It’s just that’s what the defense was giving me,” Thomas said.
Amid all that passing Thomas had just one turnover.
“He did it in all kinds of ways,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “The best plays that he made and the most impactful were when he got to the rim and he’d go up and find people.
“He was finding people everywhere.”
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns beat Miami for the first time since November 3, 2009, their 99-90 victory marking a sixth straight defeat for the reeling Heat.
Devin Booker scored 18 of his 27 points in the second half and Marquese Chriss added a career-high 18 for the Suns, who had lost 12 straight to their rivals from Florida.
“That tells you how talented they’ve been for the last few years … still really talented, just short-handed tonight,” said Booker, who was just 13 the last time the Suns triumphed over the Heat.
Goran Dragic’s 24 points paced the Heat, who dressed the league minimum of eight players as injuries and ailments ranging from food poisoning to migraine sidelined others.
In Los Angeles, Julius Randle notched the third triple-double of his career to help the Lakers end a three-game losing streak with a 116-102 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Randle scored 19 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and handed out 11 assists as the young Lakers team won for just the third time in 18 games.
In Detroit, Paul George scored 32 points and the Indiana Pacers matched their season high in a 121-116 victory over the Pistons.
And in Denver, Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins scored a game-high 31 points to go with six rebounds and six assists in a 120-113 victory over the Nuggets.
In Dallas Mavericks’ experiment with bringing Aussie big man Andrew Bogut off the bench paid off on Tuesday with a 113-105 NBA victory over the Washington Wizards.
The strategy meant that Bogut and veteran Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki were never on the floor at the same time, and while Dallas coach Rick Carlisle wasn’t completely comfortable with the plan, there was no arguing with the result.
“I don’t like this,” Carlisle admitted after the win. “He (Bogut) shouldn’t be coming off the bench. But the fact that he’s not only willing, but basically offered to, tells you a lot about his character.
“He wants to win. This is not a normal occurrence for a 12- or 13-year guy. And he’s a proud guy. He deserves to start. They both do. But we haven’t been able to make it work real well. So tonight, this is where we were.”
It was just the 15th time in his career that Bogut came off the bench.
“There’s no point of starting with Dirk and then getting pulled 30 seconds into a game,” Bogut told ESPN. “So I went to coach and said, ‘If you’re going to continue to do that, just bring me off the bench. I won’t be offended.”
For one night at least it looked like a good idea, with the struggling Mavericks improving to 11-24.
Dallas’ reserves played a big role. Devin Harris and Seth Curry combined for 33 of 43 points provided by the Mavs bench, Harris pouring in 17 points in 17 minutes.
Bogut didn’t score, but he pulled down six rebounds and blocked one shot in 20 minutes.
Dallas got a scare when he limped off after banging knees with an opponent in the waning minutes, but Carlisle said it didn’t appear to be serious.
Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 26 points. Down 88-87 heading into the fourth quarter, Dallas opened the final frame with a 20-9 scoring run and held on for the victory.
Deron Williams added 21 points. That included four three-pointers as the Mavericks made 17 of 32 from long range.
The Jazz’s Joe Johnson, a former Celtics, said the problems posed by Thomas aren’t in proportion with his relatively diminutive 5-foot-9-inch (1.75m) frame.
“He plays big,” Johnson said. “Despite his size. He’s tough to guard, tough to contain. He makes tough shots.”
Boston pummelled the Jazz from the perimeter, making 17 of 31 three-point attempts.
They are just the 12th team to hit 17 three-pointers in back-to-back games, and the barrage came against a Jazz team that was leading the league in three-point and overall defense.
“I know they’re a good defensive team, so when I kind of attacked they showed more than one guy and my job was to just get the ball to the open guy and I tried to do that tonight,” said Thomas, who has scored at least 20 points in all but one game this season.
Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 23 points. Johnson added 17 and Boris Diaw scored 15 off the bench. Diaw’s fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert pulled down 13 rebounds, extending his streak of games with at least 10 to 21.
