Isaiah Thomas could be seen struggling with his emotions on the bench in Boston on Sunday before the Celtics took on the Chicago Bulls in Game 1 of their playoff series. It would be hard to fathom the situation Thomas is in, preparing to play a playoff game just a day after his sister Chyna was killed in a car accident on I-5 in Washington.
Fans at TD Garden were understandably supportive of Thomas, who took the honor of leading his teammates out onto the floor as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Via Twitter:
Isaiah Thomas leads the Celtics out of the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/iE6D41u8iw
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) April 16, 2017
The Garden took a moment of silence to honor Chyna, with all eyes on Thomas as he tried to battle through an unimaginable headspace:
Moment of silence for Chyna Thomas. pic.twitter.com/IuzUtHhEbi
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) April 16, 2017
Isaiah Thomas during moment of silence for his sister Heartbreaking, pic.twitter.com/Du0oW3PYjs
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) April 16, 2017
Thomas’ shoes had “CHYNA” and “RIP LIL SIS” written on them:
Isaiah Thomas shoes… pic.twitter.com/OXWGdRoQBs
— Steve Noah (@Steve_OS) April 16, 2017
Isaiah Thomas 🙏 pic.twitter.com/dFUlN7AdzE
— ThePostGame (@ThePostGame) April 16, 2017
Meanwhile, fellow players gave words of kindness to Thomas on Twitter after the tragedy:
Prayers up @Isaiah_Thomas 🙏🏽 my condolences to you and your family
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) April 15, 2017
Prayers sent up for @Isaiah_Thomas and his family 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) April 16, 2017
@Isaiah_Thomas Prayers & Much Love 4 Ya Brother 🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) April 16, 2017
Finally, Thomas’ first points of the game came early on a deep 3-pointer that had just about everyone cheering for him:
Isaiah Thomas connects from deep on @NBAonTNT!#NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/XJpK0YkDsd
— NBA (@NBA) April 16, 2017
Thomas scored 13 points in the first quarter.
Isaiah Thomas' 13 point first quarter on @NBAonTNT. pic.twitter.com/kLg00aYNjW
— NBA (@NBA) April 16, 2017
